Diet Soda Study

I found this article that you guys might find interesting....Have a good weekend. Barbara The Latest Study on Diet Soda If you were normally a soda drinker prior to your surgery, as most of us were, you have probably wondered what the big deal is regarding drinking soda after surgery. You have probably heard the arguments that the carbonation in soda will expand your pouch. Therefore you may have reasoned that you will let the soda get flat and then drink it. Of course the time you wait for the soda to go flat may have gotten shorter and shorter, so that you may just be drinking the soda right after opening the can. And besides, if you are many years post op, the fear of expanding your pouch probably left you long ago. And then there is the argument that if you drink decaffeinated soda, then there is no caffeine to dehydrate you because caffeine acts as a diuretic. So what could possibly be wrong with drink decaffeinated diet soda? There is a new study reported March 12th on MSNBC from the University of Texas. Researchers followed 600 people over an 8 year period. They found that of those who drank 1 to 2 cans of diet soda per day, 54% of them over the 8 year period became obese. Those who drank 1 to 2 cans of regular soda, 33% of them became obese. I am not suggesting and neither is the study that you should drink regular soda. And there is an argument to be made that the group drinking diet soda may have had a predisposition to obesity. However, this study is one more reason to consider how artificial sweetener acts in your body. Most diet sodas contain aspartame which studies have shown decreases the serotonin in the body. Serotonin is the neurochemical that regulates emotions and appetite, among other things. Therefore a decrease in serotonin can cause depression which can lead us to turn to comfort foods as well as increase our appetite. So the caffeine free diet soda that you are drinking may very well be making you more hungry and causing cravings. The jury is still out on Splenda. There have been some adverse reactions reported, so you may not be safe substituting Splenda for aspartame. Just try going a week with no diet soda or artificially sweetened products and see if you notice a difference. Here are some substitutes for diet soda that you might want to consider Water - pure and simple Water with a little fruit juice mixed in Water with a slice of lemon or orange Herbal tea

Yikes! that's so interesting. I wonder about Splenda too, I wonder what the future will tell about it! I'm glad soda never really did it for me! that seems like one of the hardest post op changes to make. I like tha****er, water, and more water...

Some of this stuff is scary. I worry about the Splenda and Aspartame. I know that I consume more of it than I should via Crystal Light and other stuff. I have promised myself that soda will never again pass my lips. Not because I am afraid of stretching my pouch or experiencing discomfort from the carbonation, but because it is a vestige of my OLD life and my NEW life doesn't want any part of it. I feel the same way about several fast food restaurants. I just can't go to some of them anymore because I used to practically live there! Thanks for sharing the info, Barb! Hugs, Stephanie