Cebu Province - Diet soda is a carbonated beverage sweetened with aspartame, sucralose, or saccharin, rather than sugar. It's been around for decades, with some of the country's first diet soda products being introduced in 1982. Diet soda became increasingly popular in the 1990s, as more individuals converted from regular soda to it in an effort to better their health.

In different parts of the world, soft drinks are known by different names such as soda, cola, pop, and the generic "coke" are the most frequent. However, most individuals do not consider these carbonated beverages to be healthy. Diet soda has been marketed as an alternative free of sugar and calories – and the associated guilt and health risks.

It is frequently marketed to health-conscious individuals, athletes, and those who have diabetes or want to lose weight. But the question now is, is diet soda really harmless?

There is research that talks about the myths about diet soda. People who switched to diet soda instead of sweetened liquids including juices, sweetened coffee, or sports drinks were more successful in losing 5% of their body weight, according to a short study. However, there were no significant differences in weight reduction between individuals who switched to water and those who did not. In the same study, diet soda has also been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and vascular diseases, such as stroke.

As years go by, innovation comes with uncertainty about these beverages and how they affect our nutrition and health status. Here are the myths about diet sodas:

• Diet soda contains Aspartame, which causes cancer. This is one of the most common misconceptions about diet and zero-sugar sodas. Yes, they contain Aspartame, but the amount per can is so small that it is insignificant and will not cause cancer in humans.
• Artificial sweeteners found in diet sodas and zero-calorie soft drinks slow your metabolism and promote fat storage. There is no solid research to back up this claim. However, there could be a reason why people frequently blame it. Because diet sodas have no calories, they provide a false sense of security when it comes to fat loss, and the individual may overeat when ordering other food items as a result.
• Diet soda is preferable to regular soda. Regular soda contains a lot of sugar, whereas diet soda does not. This also means that regular sweet soda has a lot of calories, whereas a diet soda does not.
• Diet soda shoots up insulin levels. Diet soda contains no sugar, and Aspartame does not cause an increase in insulin levels.
• Diet soda contributes to weight gain. Due to its component, aspartame, people tend to relate it with weight gain.

The bottom line is that regular consumption of diet soda has been shown to have serious health consequences. It is entirely up to you whether you are willing to take this risk with your health. However, if you want to reduce your risk of diabetes and other chronic diseases, you should cut out both diet and regular soda from your diet. Clean, clear WATER is highly encouraged instead, especially during this summer season. // ND II Geraldine Mae S. Pausanos, RND