Diet Drinks - Good or Bad for Weight Control?
Diet Drinks Contain Zero Calories
Calorie-free diet drinks, like Diet Coke™, Diet Pepsi™ or Diet-7
Up™ seem very good for weight control. By comparison, a cup of
orange juice contains 110 calories. And these diet drinks are
certainly popular - according to data collected by Information
Resources Inc, (Aug 2002), diet drinks represent about 30
percent of the US soft drink market, 6.6 percent up on the
previous year, and this ignores diet drinks sales in most
convenience stores.
Health Concerns About Diet Drinks - Caffeine & Sweeteners
Against a background of rising obesity and concerns about diet
nutrition, critics of diet drinks point to the adverse health
effects of two particular ingredients of diet drinks: caffeine and
artificial sweeteners.
Caffeine in Diet Drinks
Concerns about caffeine in diet drinks revolves around it's
addictive effects on the brain, as well as the kidneys. Caffeine
has diuretic properties, and is a dehydrating agent - one reason,
say the critics, why a person is inclined to drink so many cans of
soda every day without ever being satisfied. Critics also claim
that caffeine-containing diet drinks can cause a gradual gain in weight
from overeating as a direct result of confusion of thirst and
hunger sensations.
Artificial Sweeteners in Diet Drinks
Critics of diet drinks point out that artificial sweeteners cause
the brain to react to sweet taste (cephalic phase response) by
preparing the liver to receive a new supply of sugar. And if no
sugar appears, the liver signals an urge to eat, or possibly
over-eat.
Lack of Nutrition in Diet Drinks
Irrespective of the possible adverse effects of diet drinks on
weight control, no one disputes the lack of nutrition in these
diet drinks. Typically, diet drinks sole contribution to dietary
and nutritional requirements is a little sodium.
Best Diet Drinks
Water (or pure fruit juice 1/3-2/3 diluted with water), is still
the best and healthiest diet drink. It quenches thirst, contains
no calories (or 30-40 with fruit juice) and has a number of
beneficial metabolic and physiological effects. And water is great
for weight control.
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