Can Sugar-free Soda Make You Gain Weight?
Sugar-free soft drinks replace a lot of sugary soft drinks and other drinks at the moment. Worrying about gaining weight causes many of us to choose low calorie drinks. Can sugar-free soda have the opposite effect and actually make you gain weight?
Soda should not replace water as a thirst quencher in any case for our body to function properly.
Sugar-free soda
The risks of drinking sugar-free soda
Sugar-free soft drinks are soft drinks that do not contain any sugar, but contain other alkaline sweeteners instead, such as aspartame, saccharin or cyclamate. Although sugar-free soda does not contain calories, the sweeteners are responsible for the absorption of sugar in the intestine.
In addition , they promote insulin secretion in the same way as sugary sodas. Therefore, the blood sugar drops and thus causes a feeling of hunger.
Sweeteners also affect the intestinal flora and alter the bacteria in the body. As a result, it also produces dysbiosis and glucose intolerance.
Sugar-free soda and weight
Researchers are increasingly studying the relationship between sugar-free soda and weight. The studies aim to find out if sugar-free soda can make you gain weight since it is a very controversial topic.
The latest published study, Sugar and artificially sweetened beverages linked to obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis, shows a link between soft drinks and obesity.
However, it is important to point out that this study does not differentiate between soft drinks with and without sugar. The results show that there is more soda drinking, regardless of sugar content, among overweight people.
Other studies suggest that sugar-free drinks may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in addition to increasing the risk of obesity. However, there is no clear evidence as to why this is happening.
On the other hand, there are studies like this one by Plos One that show the connection between drinking soda without sugar and a larger amount of belly fat. According to this study, soda without sugar may not be an effective measure to control weight.
Why can soda without sugar make you gain weight?
The compensation effect
Sugar-free drinks can not lead to weight gain on their own, but they are related to unhealthy lifestyle habits.
You may think that the calories you do not get in via soda are replaced by eating more calories through food. For example , compensating for eating a hamburger with french fries by drinking soda without sugar is not a reliable way to control your weight.
They can increase hunger
To repeat, this type of soda can trigger the feeling of hunger in those who drink them.
This means that your body responds to sugar-free soda in the same way it reacts to regular soda. The only difference is that the sugar does not actually enter the body.
Sweetness causes addiction
It has been proven that eating very sweet foods, either with or without calories, often activates brain areas related to joy and reward, leading to an addiction to very intense tastes and sensations. The effects of sweet foods on the brain cause the same sensation as using drugs, so you tend to want to eat more and more sugar.
Conclusion
It seems logical to replace sugary soda with sugar-free soda if you want to lose weight. So far it has been shown that they are safe in moderate amounts and do not contain calories.
However, science shows that drinking soda without sugar regularly does not help control weight as it causes you to eat more and gain more belly fat.
Weight gain is quite complicated and you can not blame a single group of foods, products or even sugar. That said , your main drink should be water, both during and after meals.
What if you fancy a soda then? What do you choose, soda with or without sugar? You can choose sugar-free soft drinks from time to time since no negative effects have been found when drunk in small amounts.
