diet soda

The only safe diet soda is the one you don't drink

There are a great many things that divide us as a country.

There's North versus South... Democrats versus Republicans... and Yankees versus Red Sox.

But unless you want to increase your risk of heart attack and diabetes, the choice between Coke versus Pepsi should be a resolute "Neither one!"

And it's not just the high sugar content of both brands -- because even diet sodas made with artificial sweeteners carry their own risks.

Most of them are sweetened with aspartame -- and since the chemical has been shown to cause cancer in lab rats, many people are finally taking advice from doctors like me and ditching both real sugar AND fake sugar.

Although, if you ask me, we still have a long way to go in convincing people to lay off the diet sodas. And now the latest headlines show just how hopelessly devoted some folks are to these carbonated cans of cancer juice.

A couple of months ago, Pepsi tried to counter their declining sales of Diet Pepsi by replacing aspartame with sucralose. But after just a short trial period -- and a huge backlash from their chemical-guzzling core fanbase -- PepsiCo has flip-flopped and added aspartame back in.

Personally, I think that soda belongs in the trash can instead of your fridge, but I will admit that Pepsi removed aspartame in late 2015 for all the right reasons. The artificial sweetener is particularly bad for unborn babies -- and for all of us, it tricks the body into creating an insulin response that can lead to weight gain.

It's even been linked to insulin resistance and diabetes.

But while sucralose is touted as being "made from sugar," switching to it is actually just trading one cancer-causing chemical for another.

In fact, just earlier this year, sucralose was linked to leukemia and other cancers.

The bottom line is that you should avoid soda, or any sweetened drink, altogether.

If you're looking for a jolt of caffeine, coffee is a healthier alternative (as long as you're not adding sugary syrups and whipped cream to it). It has a proven record of health benefits from reducing colon cancer risk to protecting you from diabetes and even help you live longer.

Or a cup of tea can give you that needed energy boost -- whether it's one of the caffeinated or herbal varieties. Peppermint tea can particularly perk you up and keep your mind sharp, well into your senior years.

And if you're just thirsty, there's nothing better or more refreshing than a tall glass of cool water.

Sources:
'Net Positive': PepsiCo CEO Defends Aspartame Decision
(adage.com)

Is Diet Pepsi with sucralose healthier than aspartame?
(marketwatch.com)

How 'diet' drinks increase your disease risk

"Diet soda" is an oxymoron -- and any doc who's still telling you to gulp this stuff down because it's "better for you" is the second part of that word.

He's telling you diet soda can help to control calories... lose weight... and keep disease at bay.

And he's full of fizz -- because a new review of decades of research confirms that just the OPPOSITE is true!

Diet soda gets the "diet" part of the name from the fact that it contains chemical sweeteners such as aspartame, which have no calories.

But when you taste something sweet, your brain and body expect some calories.

It's almost a Pavlovian response -- but at least Pavlov's dogs eventually got their dinner. Imagine if they didn't? They'd go nuts -- and that's what happens inside your body if you keep teasing it with the idea of calories that never come.

It goes nuts.

It stops releasing the hormones that tell you to stop eating, and it doesn't trigger the dopamine that gives you the feeling of satisfaction you normally get after a sweet treat, according to both human and animal studies included in the new review.

In other words, when you drink diet soda, you don't get the "stop" signal AND you're left unsatisfied. So you eat (and drink) MORE, not less -- and as a result, diet soda can actually increase your risk of obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart disease and more, according to the report.

Think that's bad? That's only the beginning -- because the study didn't even get into the risks of the artificial sweeteners themselves.

And that's where I come in.

I've torn open every packet on the counter at your local coffee shop -- the blue ones, yellow ones, pink ones and more. Even those fancy-schmancy brown packets.

And inside, I've found everything from migraines to cancer.

I've got the bitter truth about every major sweetener coming up in the September issue of my Douglass Report newsletter. You won't want to miss this one-- and if you're not a subscriber yet, what are you waiting for?

Sign up today, and you won't miss a thing.