15 Health Benefits of Giving Up Diet Soda after WLS

November 30, 2022

It doesn’t matter where you are on your weight loss journey, whether you are dieting, in a medically supervised weight loss program, are a WLS post-op or considering weight loss surgery, you've heard that diet soda is bad for you. You don’t have the motivation or nothing has persuaded you to give it up. It can be a very hard thing to do. Perhaps the following 15  health benefits of giving up diet soda will convince you it is time to eliminate it from your diet and daily routine:

Health Benefits From Giving Up Diet Soda

Diet soda and other artificially sweetened beverages have been linked to a higher risk of depression in the elderly. People who consumed diet soda or artificially sweetened coffee and tea were more likely to develop depression in research of over 260,000 participants with an average age of 61 years. While other factors may have influenced the findings, the researchers suggested further investigation because diet sodas are popular in the United States.

One study looked at nearly 60,000 women and discovered a link between daily diet soda use and an elevated risk of premature birth. While the researchers acknowledge that additional research is needed, they conclude that drinking diet soda may raise your chances of giving birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy.

Two or more diet sodas per day have decreased renal function. After 20 years, women who drank two or even more diet sodas per day had 30 percent worse kidney function than women who didn't consume diet soda, according to a study of over 3,000 women. The consumption of one diet soda per day had no negative impact on renal function. Researchers don't know how diet soda affects women of different ethnicities or men because the ladies in the study were primarily white.

Hormone imbalances may explain why switching to diet soda typically results in weight gain. Drinking diet soda before a meal prepares the pancreas to release much insulin, which is the fat-storing hormone in your blood, according to a study published in Diabetes Care. Diabetes develops when your pancreas is overworked from producing insulin to control blood sugar levels. A Japanese study found that middle-aged men who consumed Coke at least one daily had a significantly greater chance of developing Type 2 diabetes over seven years.

Giving up soda is an excellent method to lower your risk of bone fracture & strengthen your bones. Cola drinkers after menopause had reduced bone mineral density in their hips, according to a 2014 study. More research on this subject is needed, but a diet soda habit appears to damage your bones.

You most likely began drinking diet soda to reduce calories and aid weight loss. You might lose weight if you quit smoking. A nine-year study discovered that older people who consumed diet soda gained belly fat. According to a new study, drinking a daily diet soda raises your chances of becoming obese by 65 percent over the next ten years. The metabolic syndrome includes obesity, high blood pressure, and high triglycerides are linked to diabetes and heart disease, according to the study published in Diabetes Care.

You may have heard that quitting diet soda might trigger migraines. Cutting away diet soda will reduce headaches and allow you to think more clearly. Artificial sweeteners contain chemicals that change brain chemistry, the brain's reward system, and nerve signals. According to a research study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, these chemical changes cause headaches, anxiety, and insomnia. According to research, drinking diet soda also harms cells and nerve endings in the brain that control motor skills.

Diet soda's artificial sweeteners bombard your taste senses with an overwhelming sweetness each time you drink one. Splenda is 600 times sweeter than aspartame and 200 times sweeter than table sugar. According to brain scans, artificial sweeteners confound the brain's sweet receptors, prolonging your sugar cravings.

Here's an unexpected benefit of putting the soda down: You reduce your chances of developing heart disease. According to one study, soda consumers may have a 20% increased risk of coronary heart disease.

Quitting diet soda is also good for your heart: one study found that 61% of persons who drank it regularly had an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Stopping the soda habit is an excellent approach to keeping healthy, especially if you're already at risk for heart disease.

Switching away from soda will give you something to smile about: sugar and acid will no longer erode your tooth enamel. With a PH of 2.5, the ordinary soda is about as acidic as lemon juice.

"Enamel is your teeth's first line of protection," says Dr. Rodriguez-Lopez. "Once the enamel goes away, your teeth are vulnerable to decay and tooth death." "Enamel cannot be replaced once it has been lost, so you must protect the enamel you have."Eliminating soda from your diet preserves your enamel, protecting your teeth from decay. If your teeth are susceptible, consult your dentist.”

As a result, consuming soda dehydrates you. This puts a lot of load on your kidneys as your body tries to discover water sources. Water is always the most excellent choice when you need to satisfy your thirst and rehydrate. Try adding fresh fruit to your water if you want something more flavorful.

Try switching to water if you've been drinking diet soda to lose weight and get in shape for summer. Diet soda use can cause bloating.

Bisphenol-A, or BPA, may be present in some soda cans. This has been associated with an increased risk of cancer and endocrine function impairment. BPA has also been related to early puberty and infertility in several studies.

According to the Breast Cancer Funds, BPA is a widely used chemical and is found in everything from food & drink containers to dental fillings. The synthetic estrogen disrupts the hormonal system, raising the risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer, metabolic issues, and possibly type 2 diabetes in women. Reduce your exposure to this toxin by avoiding touching those soda cans, and your risks will be reduced.

Soda is a diuretic that causes you to urinate more frequently and urgently. It can also irritate your bladder, making it worse for urinary tract infections. Drinking clear fluids instead, such as wateror seltzer water, can help keep your body and bladder clean.

A straightforward technique to live longer is to: Put the soda down. According to a recent research study, people who drink a lot of soda have shorter telomeres in their immune cells, which means they're more likely to die sooner. Telomeres are DNA units that protect the ends of chromosomes from damage. The truth is that the shorter they live, the faster they age and become more susceptible to disease. So getting rid of that bad-for-you sugary drink is a beautiful idea. And it appears that it will only benefit you by prolonging your telomeres and extending your lifespan. Giving up diet soda will improve many aspects of your health. Instead of drinking a diet soda, try a nice cold glass of water or unsweetened iced tea to cool off this summer!

Tammy J. Colter is an OH staff writer and has proudly served the ObesityHelp community since 1999, helping members and professionals alike. Tammy wears many hats at ObesityHelp, she works as an author, editor, and account manager. Read more articles by Tammy!

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