A New York City study found that people who drink diet sodas every day have a 61% higher risk of developing vascular disease, even accounting for other high risks behaviors, such as smoking, exercise, and alcohol consumption [3]. And a Boston study found that women who drank more than 2 diet drinks had a 30% decrease in kidney function, quite significant when you consider that nearly 20 million Americans have been diagnosed with kidney disease [4].
Ironically, what all of the studies also found that the negative effects found with diet drinks are not found with regular sugary counterparts. So what the heck is going on? No one knows for sure. What doctors and dieticians are surmising is that when people consume diet drinks, they are being less careful about the other things they are consuming. Let’s face it, if you’re ordering a Big Mac supersized that Diet Coke isn’t going to be all that helpful!
So what’s a girl (or boy) to do? Try to limit the number of diet drinks you are drinking daily, substituting it with water, preferably (what? this week’s Hellthy Habit is Drink Your Water! You knew I was going to work it in somewhere!!). I feel like Mayo Clinic nutritionist Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D [5] sums it up best with this bit of advice:
Healthier choices abound. Start your day with a small glass of 100 percent fruit juice. Drink skim milk with meals. Sip water throughout the day. For variety, try sparkling water or add a squirt of lemon or cranberry juice to your water. Save diet soda for an occasional treat.
~a little salt for your tequila and lime (to prevent scurvy, of course!), followed by a BIG glass of water!
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