Diet Soda Advisory
I have long advised patients to stop drinking diet soda. While a can does not contain hardly any calories, experience has reliably shown that appetite is invariably stimulated by these drinks leading to increased intake of food. The prestigious journal Circulation just published a study that found a correlation between the intake of diet soda and the development of metabolic syndrome — the combination of risk factors for heart disease and diabetes that include hypercholesterolemia, abdominal obesity, hypertension and hyperglycemia.
The study involved more than 9,500 men and women ages 45 to 64 and followed their health for nine years. Those who partook of the developed world’s dietary pattern (red meat, fried foods and refined grain) were 18 percent more at risk for metabolic syndrome, while those who ate healthy (vegetables, fruits, fish and poultry) showed neither an increased nor decreased risk.
The risk of developing metabolic syndrome was 34 percent higher among those who drank one can of diet soda a day compared with those who drank none. The investigators postulated that there might be a chemical ingredient in diet soda that was responsible for this effect.
To those who want to stay slim and healthy, and to those who drink diet soda just for the taste of it, stick to drinking water exclusively.
6 comments:
Hey doc,
I have yet to see your reaction on the statements made by Mr. Lozada on the NBN deal.
My friends and I were planning on retiring in the Philippines. Do you think that it is still worth it?
Ninoy said that the Filipinos are worth dying for. But with our kababayans voting the same people again and again, I wonder if we will ever mature as a nation.
Don't get me wrong. I love our country as much as you do, and I am still planning on going back home, but we are slowly loosing hope.
Frustrated doc.
What's amazing is how Diet soda drinkers actually prefer the taste of Diet over regular which it was made to imitate. And many drink it more than they do water.
frustrated doc, don't lose hope. nandito ako ngayon sa clinic sa Oklahoma. i will post my thoughts regarding the Lozada affair as soon as I can.
TO FRUSTRATED DOCTOR
Don’t get me wrong here.
I believe what Jun Lozada told the Senate. He’s by far the most credible and damaging witness against the administration.
I also believe that he is being used PURELY to discredit the GMA administration and for GO to gain some pogi points for the next elections, and not because they’re sincerely concerned for him.
Don’t lose hope! For our nation! Help in your own way. I’m doing my share in helping.
Dr. Bautista:
I've been having some rather erratic heartbeat patterns after a good drink of diet soda (parang malakas yung tibok eh). But I'm not hypertensive. Is that part of metabolic syndrome?
Thanks, and keep up the good work!
Marck
Dear Marck, it is probably the caffeine that is causing the palpitations. Stick to drinking water.
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