Nutrition News You Can Trust

As your resident nutrition specialist, I strive to stay on top of the latest research to provide science-backed guidance and updates to my readers. I search the internet for both recent and historical articles that are relevant and interesting, if not occasionally controversial. This week, an intriguing article by Dr Robert Shmerling in Harvard Health Publishing caught my eye as it explores a major drawback of zero-calorie and diet soft drinks for weight loss. The results might surprise you.

Many of us assume that switching from regular fizzy drinks to their diet alternatives is an easy way to eliminate excess calories and support weight management. However, several studies on humans (and rats) suggest these zero-calorie fizzy drinks are not the healthier option they are believed to be. In a nutshell, diet drinks may increase hunger and therefore food consumption, likely resulting in weight gain. Not what you want if you’re trying to lose weight!

The article details a study where rats that were given carbonated beverages, both regular and diet, ate more food and gained weight faster compared to rats who drank only still plain water. It was found that the fizzy drinks increased ‘ghrelin’ in the stomach, a hormone that stimulates hunger. Similarly, human trials found drinking any type of carbonated beverage, including plain seltzer (sparkling water), temporarily increased ghrelin versus drinking still plain water or non-carbonated soda. In other words, we feel hungrier after drinking fizzy drinks compared with non-fizzy options.

While the underlying mechanism is still being investigated, the evidence indicates carbonation may somehow prompt our bodies to feel hungrier. So relying on diet soda or sparkling waters alone may not be an effective weight loss strategy.

Of course, enjoying the occasional zero-calorie carbonated drink is unlikely to cause excess weight gain (remember my favourite 80/20 rule that I’m always talking about). However, making it our daily go-to beverage is likely to be counterproductive for weight management.? I always recommend plain water as the best choice for not only hydration but overall health (shout out to my fellow gut healthers who bloat after one sip of a fizzy drink).

For more details, I highly recommend reading the full piece "Zero weight loss from zero calorie drinks?" by Dr Robert Shmerling from Harvard Health Publishing. Let me know your thoughts on the role of carbonated drinks in a healthy diet and your own experiences.

PS: this is one pitfall of diet and fizzy drinks but by no means all the downsides. The world of diet drinks, sugar free and reduced fat products can be confusing and not always the healthy choice we think it is. More to come on this topic and much more. Stay tuned!

Stay healthy,

Grace

Access the full study here-Zero weight loss from zero calorie drinks? Say it ain’t so - Harvard Health

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