It is true; diet soda will put fat on you.

It’s common knowledge that carbonated drinks, also know as “soda pop” may be one of the worst things you can consume…the horrid chemicals, the high fructose corn syrup that makes your gut fat, and a number of health related issues that this beverage promotes, yet these drinks continue to be popular among those who are unconcerned about their health and well being.

It is amazing that so many people mistakenly believe that drinking “diet” soda will help them lose weight. Actually, it’s common for me to hear people extol the virtues of their healthy diets and say they only consume diet soda.

Okay, let’s correct this mistaken assumption.

There isn’t ONE THING that is even slightly healthful about the consumption of diet soda. I have read a number of studies that indicate people who are devoted to drinking diet soda gain even more weight than those who drink regular soda.

A study that was held at the University of Texas for a period of eight years found these results.

The author of the study had this to say,

“What didn’t surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity,” Fowler states to WebMD. “What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher.”

“There was a 41 percent increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day,” says Fowler.

We were already aware that regular soda was really bad for our health, and today we’re seeing reports from studies that say diet sodas are even more fattening than the “bad” stuff!

The factors that contribute to this occurrence are numerous and complex.

One underlying factor involves the sugar substitutes that are used in diet sodas, causing a detrimental hormonal response, whereby the body increases the production of a fat storage hormone and subsequently promotes a desire for refined carbohydrates and sweets following consumption of the diet soda.

Another factor arises from faulty reasoning; people have been drinking only diet sodas, so they think they can eat other foods with impunity and end up taking in more total calories.

I’ve consistently maintained this, but what it boils down to is that people who are concerned about their health should avoid all types of soda (and anything that contains artificial sweeteners) all of the time, except for the odd occasion where there is no alternative.

What can you substitute for diet sodas?

Plain water, perhaps with a slice of lemon, and iced tea that is unsweetened provide excellent alternatives, and there are a lot of tea choices, including oolong, red, black, white, or green etc., so be creative. Also, teas provide you with a large array of antioxidants that have anti-aging properties. You need to take all of this into consideration if you want to build six pack abs !