Diet soda, while it may be delicious, you might want to rethink that one can a day thing—or more if you’re some people (ahem…me).
Recent research has found that drinking diet soda with your meals may be causing you to eat unhealthier foods. Over the course of nine years the study looked at the eating habits of over 22,000 people nationwide. It looked at the participants’ drinking habits and how they correspond to calorie consumption.
So what did they find? Those who drank diet soda obtained a greater percentage of their overall daily calorie intake from “energy dense, nutrient-poor foods” like cookies, ice cream, chocolate, fries, and pastries, and caused an increase in daily calorie intake as well. Basically, they proved that the more diet soda you drink, the more likely you are to eat junk food.
The point of the study that mindful eating matters (aka thinking about quality and quantity of your food). Simply eplacing a sugary drink with a diet one may not prevent weight gain. So this research could be the last push you need to cut that diet soda out of your diet!
