Many Americans drink diet soda on the daily thinking it’s a healthier option. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case, consuming it often can lead to numerous health risks. There are healthy alternatives to choose from that pose no risk. Drinking two or more diet sodas a day can increase women aged 50 or older risk of a stroke by 23%.
Learn how to reduce your risk of stroke by decreasing the diet soda and choosing healthy alternatives.
The Health Risks of Diet Soda
Consuming diet soda leads to higher risks of heart disease and early death.
A study was conducted of 81,000 women ages 50-79 for 12 years. It found that those who consumed diet soda frequently had a 29% higher chance of having a heart attack, 31% more likely to have a stroke, and 16% more likely to die.
In addition, drinking diet soda on a regular basis leads to abdominal weight gain, metabolic syndrome, and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Other health risks include bone loss, kidney problems, and tooth decay.
Diet Soda Dangers:
- Heart disease
- Early Death
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Weight gain
- Metabolic syndrome
- Bone loss
- Kidney problems
- Tooth decay
How to Stop Drinking Diet Soda
Fulfill your caffeine desires in other ways
Try coffee or tea, which are chock-full of antioxidants for a good measure of disease protection. It’s also a good idea to get more sleep so you’re not chronically exhausted and dependent on caffeine to get through the day.
Manage your blood sugar levels
Avoid day-to-day stressors like starting the day with watching the news and
missing meals. Spread your protein throughout the day and keep a supply of nourishing snacks on hand for a blood sugar reboot.
Make your gut healthy
Take probiotics to manage your gut health. This can increase the good bacteria in your body for your stomach to work the best.
Healthy Alternatives to Diet Soda
Even with all this negative information on diet soda it can still be hard to quit drinking it. The caffeine and sugar energy boost it gives can be addicting. Instead of quitting cold turkey, which can make you tired and irritable it’s recommended to slowly taper off of it. Begin by drinking less in the beginning then start to have days where you don’t have soda at all.
A helpful method is switching out soda for green tea or coffee. It has added health benefits, such as vitamins and minerals. You can choose a natural sweetener, such as stevia. When the weather warms up in summer make iced-tea or cold brewed coffee for a refreshing pick me up
When the weather warms up in summer make iced-tea or cold brewed coffee for a refreshing pick me up.
Alternative Options:
- Iced latte
- Cold-brew coffee
- Fruit flavored sparkling water
- Iced tea
- Fruit smoothie
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