Diet soda is bad for your waist, which means it is not good for your skin either!

With our world wide epidemic of obesity it is no wonder to me that this years number one new years resolution is to lose weight. With this promise to lose weight, it is important to be educated, as it is all too easy to replace the bad things with something potentially even worse – as it is with diet soda pops!

Losing weight is of course a wonderful goal to strive for, as the connections between ones waist and other health factors are well known –  psoriasis, infertility, heart disease and diabetes being just a few that come to my mind. Sugary soda pops, like coca cola, are one of the biggest contributors to the big belly, so it makes sense to stop drinking them. But do not be so quick to replace them with a diet soda, as new research shows that these chemically laden fluids are just as bad. This clip from the Huffington post’s healthy living section from Jan 6th says it all,

“Researchers found that the diet soda drinkers had waist circumference increases of 70 percent greater than those who non-diet soda drinkers. And people who drank diet soda the most frequently — at least two diet sodas a day — had waist circumference increases that were 500 percent greater than people who didn’t drink any diet soda, the study said.”

Thats right folks, a 70% increase in belly size was associated with diet pop consumption, while a 500% increased belly size was seen in people who drank the stuff more frequently. Who would have guessed right? I mean the stuff says “diet” right on it. Doesn’t that mean healthy and good? Doesn’t that mean I am not supposed to gain weight when I drink it? Please do not be fooled by corporate marketing.

The word diet on a can of anything means nothing. We as consumers have to do our homework. We have to read the labels of everything we consume. Artificial sweeteners found in diet sodas actually increase blood sugar levels, thus increasing the probability that the diet soda drinker will develop diabetes! Metabolic disorders, like diabetes and insulin resistance, are associated with many skin disorders like psoriasis, acne and others. I personally feel that these chemicals serve no purpose in our diets. By no means can they be called a food! How they ever become synonymous with “dieting” and healthy living is beyond me.

Best to stick to products without labels. Eat fresh, living foods, that come from your farmers market, or your own garden. If you insist on drinking some kind of sparkling beverage, then try a non sweetened carbonated spring water with a freshly sliced lime or lemon squeezed in. A drink like this will go a lot further in actually supporting weight loss than the diet soda pop.

Wishing you health,

Dr. Trevor Erikson