Is Diet Pepsi Bad For You
Short answer:
Well, the answer is both yes and no. Diet Pepsi as its pros but excessive consumption over time will harm you.v
Long Answer:
Diet soft drinks have sort of become a trend in modern day society. The most popular of these are coke sodas from Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper and other companies. The intended purpose of the diet sodas was to provide a healthier and low carb alternative to people trying to lose weight or those with blood sugar problems. But is diet Pepsi really good for you?
What diet Pepsi does to your body
Now to understand what diet Pepsi does to you, it is important first to know what it is made of and how it differs from regular coke. The basic ingredients are carbonated water, caffeine and other flavorings, phosphoric acid, sweeteners, acid regulator, citric acid and sodium benzoate for preservation. Notice that there is no sugar in that list and this is where it differs with regular Pepsi coke.
As earlier said, diet coke is both good and bad for you. But the fact is that it is more of the bad. This is because continuous consumption of most of the ingredients has been proven to have major negative side effects on the body. First of all, the artificial sweeteners do more harm than good as they reduce your body’s ability to recognize and respond to natural sugars and increase your chances of getting type two diabetes. The Sodium benzoate plus citric acid mixture used to preserve the drink has many harmful repercussions including increased cancer risk, DNA mutation and promotion of stomach ulcers. Finally, excessive consumption of caffeine has been shown to cause chronic headaches, nausea and irregular sleep cycles.
Short term side effects of Diet Pepsi
- Bloating
- Chronic thirst and dehydration
- Lack of sleep
- Headaches
Long term side effects of Diet Pepsi
- Lesions and ulcers in the digestive tract
- Cancerous growths
- Weight gain. Yes, gaining. The artificial sweeteners are not actually one hundred percent 0-carb and continuous consumption with put a few extra pounds in you.
Benefits of Diet Pepsi
Despite the multitude of negatives, diet Pepsi does have its up sides thus the ‘yes’ part of the answer.
- Gives energy and improves alertness temporarily.
- Momentary quenching of thirst
- Has fewer calories than regular Pepsi coke and will help you lose weight by reducing your carb intake.
- It is safe for consumption by diabetics due to the lack of sugar.
Healthier alternatives
- Water is probably the absolute best alternative. It has the same benefits with no side effects.
- Non-fat milk. Gives you the same diet friendly benefits due to low calorie content.