When you think that diet sodas are helping your diet, you may need to step back, evaluate everything, and think again.

Diet soda comes with zero calories, but its risks against health may come from other reasons. In the US, 1 out of 5 people drink a diet soda once a day and it includes kids 2 years and up. Its side effects include altered metabolism and obesity among others.

What does it Contains?

The usual diet sodas contain 4 main ingredients, the artificial coloring, the aspartame, the phosphoric acid and the sodium benzoate.

Artificial coloring or the 2 methylimidazole and the 4- methylimidazole has been known to cause cancer among animals. The second one, the aspartame is the ingredients that later convert into methanol which later on turns into formaldehyde, the thing that preserves the dead. Phosphoric acid on the other hand is a known cleaning agent included in home cleaning products and can drain calcium from bones. And the last, the sodium benzoate tend to react to vitamin C in the body which then forms benzene, a chemical that can increase risk of leukemia and other cancers.

Diet Soda Side Effects

Soda is the single biggest source of calories among Americans. In the last decade, kids have double the rate of its consumption as stated in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. And adults by far, have grown into 25%.

This rise has lead into major risk thus sprung newer studies and inquiries. Several study has led us into several conclusions, diet sodas may not be helping your diet or your health.

Side Effect Number 1: Kidney Problems

Over 3,000 women in the span of 11 years has been subjected into study by Harvard Medical school. They found that kidney health decline and soda consumption are related. Diet soda drank daily can have these worst effects. This is mostly associated with the ingredients of artificial sweetener and the high sodium.

Side Effect Number 2: Altered Metabolism

In the University of Minnesota study, it has been found that 34% increase in the risk of metabolic syndrome can be acquired even with a single can of diet soda drank daily. The 10,000 study subjects, all adults, have raised their unhealthy belly fats, risk for attack and even stroke.

When you consume more diet soda, you will have 44% higher chance of acquiring stroke, heart attack which is opposite from the 22% of non-soda drinkers.

Side Effect Number 3: Obesity

So this is where all the lies come in. Many people think that a diet can of soda may be helping them avoid weight gain. But the body  gets confused when the tongue tastes sweets but the body never receives the sugar. This often leads to more food consumption during meals and even eating in between meals.

Two or more cans of diet soda everyday have been associated with 500% increase of waistlines.

Side Effect Number 4: Cell Damage

The sodium benzoate found in diet sodas which is aimed to inhibit molds are found to damage DNA in the mitochondria and inactivate it later. This may cause asthma, hives and more allergic reactions.

Side Effect Number 5: Depression

Blues can be contributed to by the consumption of diet sodas. It can heighten the risk of depression among adults, according to a study, compared to those who drink non-diet soda.

How to Undo Diet Sodas Side Effects

Here are some steps you may need to do to recuperate from the diet soda scam.

1. Cut diet soda intake of course. Or you can cut all sodas after and have some water instead or healthier ones like green tea or fruit juices.
2. Get healthy diets. Add more greens, avoid processed foods and eat more fish. Omega-3 from the fish can help you repair cells and combat the damage of heart attack and stroke.
3. Exercise. Burn those calories instead of relying on calorie drinks. Exercise too can flush out those diet soda effects. Exercise is a great detoxifier as well.

Image Credit: takgoti via Flickr