We all know by now that pop, or soda, is one of the worst beverages you can ingest. The many additives like high fructose corn syrup and artifical flavours can cause a slew of health problems as documented in various research studies.

Surprisingly, many people believe that “diet” soda is in some way a good thing for losing weight. “I would like a diet coke instead please” is something I’ve heard with alarming regularity when dining out with friends and colleagues.

Is it others’ perceptions of you ordering water and being cheap that has you ordering diet soda? I’m not sure, but the physchology of eating out in a group is something interesting and shall be covered in a future article.

But, perception aside, let’s get down to the facts.

There is absolutely NOTHING, ZERO, NADA healthy about drinking diet pop. At least with other foods and liquids, an argument can usually be made for moderation. Not our fizzy friend diet pop! In fact, there are several studies that show dedicated diet soda drinkers gained more weight than regular soda drinkers. Think about that for a few seconds!

Don’t believe it yet? Check out these findings from an eight year study at the Univerisity of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.

The study author, Sharon P. Fowler, states “What didn’t surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity. What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher.”

Fowler goes on to state, “There was a 41 percent increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day.”

But how could something labelled “Diet” be more harmful then the regular stuff?

One reason is that the artificial sweeteners in diet sodas create a negative hormonal response in the body that increases fat storing hormone production and increases cravings for more sweets and refined carbohydrates in the time period after consuming the diet drink.

My favorite reason and one that may surface in the other peoples’ perception category mentioned above is that people may subconsciously think that because they are drinking a diet soda, that gives them more leeway to eat more of everything else, hence consuming more calories overall.

Bottom Line: If you’re serious about your health and body, pop of any kind (and artificial sweeteners in anything for that matter!) should be avoided at all times, except for very rare occasions when you can’t avoid them.

So what is a good alternative to pop?

The best alternatives are good ole’ fashion water which you can dress up with lemon or unsweetened iced teas (ie. green, white, black, red). You’ll also get a healthy kick of antioxidants by going the tea route.

For more ideas regarding healthy eating check out Mike Geary’s book The Truth About Six Pack Abs. You will find nutrition guidelines, eating habits and need-to-know information regarding your body and why the majority of people trying to lose weight fail miserably.

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