Tuesday, March 12, 2013

The soda police...

There has been a lot in the new lately about sugary drinks.  A ban on supersized sodas that was scheduled to go into effect today in New York City was overturned yesterday.  

As I've mentioned here, one of the first steps I made in this weight loss journey was decreasing my Mountain Dew intake.  I used to drink 2-3 Mountain Dews per day.  Do you know how much sugar that is?  I didn't.  A 12 ounce can of Mountain Dew has about 1/4 cup sugar!!  That means that with the amount I was drinking, I was consuming at least a CUP OF SUGAR A DAY just from my soda intake.  Holy frig!  


I miss my Mountain Dew.  I really do.  But that just shows how addictive these substances are!  Think switching to diet is the answer?   Well, you are WRONG.  I have often commented that diet sodas are evil, and I've taken a lot of flack for saying that from people.

Well, guess what?  There is some recent research that supports this - In the March 2013 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition they published a story that found:
  • Diet sodas raised the risk of diabetes more than sugar-sweetened sodas!
  • Women who drank one 12-ounce diet soda had a 33 percent increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, and women who drank one 20-ounce soda had a 66 percent increased risk.
  • The average diet soda drinker consumes three diet drinks a day
Wait, say that again?  YES - the study found that the risk of DIABETES was increased in diet soda drinkers MORE than regular sodas!!

So, I hate to tell you this, but for weight loss and health, you need to toss soda - diet and regular.

As for the ban on super-sized sodas?  I'll be interested to see how this plays out.  There is no doubt that these sodas DO contribute to obesity.  But so do Doritos.  And most fast food - hell, most restaurant food.  So where do we stop?  I don't know about saving the world, but I did make a choice to save myself.  I try to lead by example.  I am far from perfect.  

What example are you setting today?


3 comments:

  1. You make some excellent points. I both agree and disagree. Look at what was written in the conclusion of the study you cited:

    "We cannot rule out that factors other than ASB consumption that we did not control for are responsible for the association with diabetes, and randomized trials are required to prove a causal link between ASB consumption and T2D."

    So do we have a causation here, or perhaps merely a correlation?

    I noticed that when I was drinking (sadly, a lot) of diet soda, it increased my enjoyment of food. Food tasted better if I would have it with a diet soda. I think it is possible that people who drink a lot of diet soda may tend to eat more, and maybe eat more "tasty but bad for you" things due to this "taste enhancement" factor that I was experiencing with diet soda.

    Interestingly, now that I'm completely off diet soda and on to water, I'm surprised at how much I don't miss diet soda, even when I'm having a meal.

    Thanks for your posts - I'm really enjoying your blog!

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  2. I agree with you 100% that with this study - as with most - CORRELATION does not NECESSARILY equal CAUSATION.

    However, it is certainly something to think about. I have never been a diet soda drinker - it has always tasted horrible to me. So I didn't have the challenge of rationalizing my use due to the zero calories.

    Glad you are enjoying my blog!

    Jen

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  3. ...not to mention the health hazzards of artificial sweeteners

    ReplyDelete