Death by Diet Soda

I can freely admit that I am a former soda-holic. My parents and my brother can attest to the fact that I used to drink soda by the gallons growing up. Every evening after school upon getting home I wouldn't have water but a tall glass of soda. Whenever we went out to eat I would have a Coke or Pepsi and on occasion I would have a Sprite. The main thing was that I needed to have the soda. It wasn't so much for the caffeine kick (although I'm sure that may have been part of it) but it was my alternative to bland, tasteless water. Because of the carbonation and sugar and all, I began to have kidney problems and soon I gave up soda cold turkey. That's part of the reason why I knew I wasn't addicted as much to the caffeine as just the fact that I was drinking it. Still, after the problems arose I switched to water and juice and such and in time, I not only beat my kidney ailments but I began to feel better too.

A new study that has come out this week proclaims that what I'm feeling is true because according to the study that was done, those who drink diet soda are more prone to have heart disease and other problems. This comes as a shock to many because for decades, diet soda has been seen as the 'healthy alternative' to regular soda. I guess it's a psychological thing because the word diet is included in the whole description. Still, considering the amount of soda that is contained in even a diet soda versus what's in a regular soda is enough to make you realize that this is all a case of semantics versus scientific fact. According to the study, researchers feel that because many consumers of diet soda are taking in relatively less sugar in the drink, they are more prone to crave sugar from other sources hence over-intaking sugar by way of junk food.

This may be true as think about the last time you went to lunch with your co-workers or friends. There are so many out there who will have a large burger, extra-large fries and a diet soda. As if the combination of heavy food and diet soda is some sort of chemistry experiment where two oppositely charged particles seemingly cancel one another out. You may think that you are consuming less by drinking a diet soda but if you get one from a place like McDonald's you're literally drinking the equivalent of several cans in one glass. The extra extra large quantities that you get here are enough to fill you up with enough sugar that you may as well add a few drops of water to a sugar bag and then consume that.

There are a lot of people out there who are taking this news with a grain of salt (or a spoonful of sugar... whichever you prefer). Opponents to the study claim that the information is misleading and false and that there is no proven link between the consumption of diet soda and heart disease or obesity. Still, I can speak from personal experience. I have never had an overactive metabolism where I could consume mass quantities of food and then continue to weigh only ten pounds. I have had to work at it and previously when I worked at it, I never really used to see any results. Then when I cut out the soda, the change was dramatic. Suddenly a source of sugar in my diet was eliminated and my overall craving for sugary foods went down. In time then so did my weight.

Some will argue that even this is just one example and that there is no evidence to prove that there is a link between the two events. After all, I'm no scientist or biologist; I'm not even a scientologist but the fact remains that after I (and my brother as well) gave up on our normal soda consumption habits, our overall disposition took a turn for the healthier. I can't say for certain that soda was or wasn't the culprit but it may have had something to do with it. Do I suddenly eat healthier now that I no longer consume soda on a regular basis? Define healthy. Does that mean no fast food, no unhealthy foods and nothing bad for me? Not exactly, but like everything, I try to enjoy it in moderation. Nothing is good for you in excess but in moderation, you definitely can enjoy without paying the consequences later on.