Diet Soda: Indicator of Bad Things to Come

I just love a good diet soda. Oh a delicious Fresca. Dreamy dreamy Diet Coke. Mmmmmm, I love aspartame (especially since it doesn’t cause cancer, okay,? because I am not a force-fed rat, okay? and the FDA says so.).

But cancer aside, diet soda can also make you fat and give you diabetes and heart disease. Kind of sort of.

A study published today of 1600 people from around Boston has found that people who drink at least one soda a day - regular or diet didn’t matter - had an increased risk of obesity, high blood pressure and the precursors of diabetes (a trio also known as metabolic syndrome). And while previous studies have tied diet soda drinkers to obesity, this study was particularly shocking because there was practically no difference between sugar and fake-sugar soda. I mean weird.

The soda industry is obviously rejecting the study outright. Of course they did. But whatever.

The real fun will be in figuring out why this relationship exists - in similar strength - for both diet and regular soda. Theories include: soda drinkers in general are lazy, layabout calorie hounds. Sweet drinks at dinner don’t fill you up as much. The caramel flavoring in soda can cause inflammation. A conspiracy by diet soft drink makers that add “fat grow” to their drinks thus capturing devoted lifetime purchasers of their goods as they try and loose the weight actually gained because of the drinks!!!! (okay, that was just me).

My bet is that people who regularly consume diet soda are just more likely to have bad eating and exercise habits that eventually line the trail to metabolic syndrome. It’s not rocket science and it’s not exactly the fault of the beverage itself.

Which is why I - who have just had a delicious lunch with many fresh vegetables, lean protein and a banana for dessert, I who rode my bide 9 kilometers to work - can enjoy my Fresca in peace. Right?