An article recently published by Times showing a day in the life of President Donald Trump made a shocking discovery: the U.S. leader drinks no less than 12 Diet Cokes every single day. Now, we all know that diet soda isn’t as bad as other options, but is it really okay to drink that much Coke?
How Healthy Diet Coke Really Is?
As Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science at Tufts University, explains: “The long-term health effects of low-calorie or artificial sweeteners are not really well-known. We’re kind of conducting a national public health experiment on the entire population.”
However, what we do know for sure is that diet soda doesn’t offer any benefits either. Furthermore, 12 diet Cokes contain a dangerous amount of caffeine – much more than the daily recommended dose for an adult. The main side effects in this case are insomnia, migraines, faster hartbeat and even jitters.
While there hasn’t been any research conducted specifically on the long-term effects of diet soda on adults, below are a few general facts that are backed up by science.
It Increases Type 2 Diabetes Risks
As a study performed in 2009 showed, people who consume diet soda regularly are 67% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes at some point in their lifetime. Although diet soda isn’t among the main causes for diabetes, it definitely is a factor to take into account.
Diet Soda May Damage Your Brain
A study performed earlier this year found that those who drank more than one diet soda per day nearly doubled their risk of stroke compared to those who avoided diet soda! Also, this seemingly healthy drink increases your risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
It Helps You Gain Weight
The fact that drinking soda while on a diet actually makes you gain weight seems pretty ironic, right? While there haven’t been any studies performed on humans in this case yet, animal studies have proven this theory. More precisely, when the body gets a drink that tastes very sweet, but doesn’t actually have any calories, it starts craving energy-rich foods, thus making you eat more.
