We hear time and again that diet soda is better than regular soda. “Same great taste without the calories!” is the promise we hear from the speakers of our TVs and radios.
While diet soda does not contain the sugar or calories of regular soda, it is full of other health-draining chemicals like caffeine, artificial sweeteners, sodium and phosphoric acid.
Although products sweetened with artificial sweeteners are marketed as healthier than their sugar-laden versions, recent research shows that they can be potentially hazardous to women’s health.
Research shows a correlation between diet soda consumption and kidney damage. A major U.S. lifestyle and health study, aimed specifically toward women, revealed that regular consumption of artificially sweetened drinks can lead to a gradual decline in the kidney function, according to www.themedguru.com.
After an examination of more than 3,000 women over a period of 11 years, researchers Dr. Julie Lin and Dr. Gary Curhan reported that those who drank two or more servings of artificially sweetened soda, or diet soda, per day had a two-fold increase in the rate of kidney function decline.
The researchers said that the link between artificial sweeteners and kidney damage was ambiguous, but on a large-scale study, this is valuable information. They cautioned about the hazards of artificially sweetened soda, providing women with a vital reason to limit high intake of diet drinks.
No relation between sugar-sweetened beverages and kidney function decline was noted in their research.
