Are Diet Sodas Good For a Low-Carb Diet?
Deciding if diet sodas are good for a low-carb diet depends on your definition of "good." Low-carb diets work by tricking your body into assuming a physiological state that naturally burns fat at an increased speed. The body can easily withdraw from this fragile state if you eat too many carbs. Although diet sodas can be friendly to a typical low-carb diet plan, they aren't necessarily your best choice for good health.
Low-Carb Diet Basics
Low-carbohydrate diets work on the concept of ketosis. In ketosis, your body shifts from burning carbohydrates as its prime source of energy to burning the energy stored in your body fat. This can produce dramatic weight loss in a relatively short time. One disadvantage of these diets is that it's easy to kick the body out of ketosis by taking in even small amounts of carbohydrates -- especially in the early stages of the diet.
- Low-carbohydrate diets work on the concept of ketosis.
- One disadvantage of these diets is that it's easy to kick the body out of ketosis by taking in even small amounts of carbohydrates -- especially in the early stages of the diet.
Diet Soda Basics
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In response to a growing American awareness of health and weight loss, soda manufacturers expanded their capitalization by offering a zero-calorie way to continue drinking soda. Most diet sodas are sweetened with zero-calorie, zero-carbohydrate artificial sweeteners like sucralose and aspartame. Because these sweeteners contain no carbohydrates, they are generally okay for consumption from the standpoint of not interfering with the physiology behind low-carb diets.
Caffeine
Caffeinated diet sodas have an additional weight loss benefit. The caffeine is a mild stimulant, which can cause you to burn more calories throughout the day -- an ingredient behind the benefits of some weight-loss teas and diet pills. Although calorie count is not as important a factor in low-carb diets, this can still make a noticeable difference on your bathroom scale.
Expert Insight
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Dr. Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health writes about diet sodas in his landmark nutrition book "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy." He reiterates that diet sodas have no calories or carbohydrates, and states that the health risks associated with them are largely overstated. On the other hand, Willett notes that these drinks have no nutritional value -- ultimately making diet sodas "an expensive way to get water."
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References
- "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy"; Walter Willett, et. al; 2004
- Obesity Action Coalition: “Upper” Limits The Value of Caffeine in Weight-loss
- Fire Museum of Missouri: History of Soda Pop
- Brouns F. Overweight and diabetes prevention: is a low-carbohydrate-high-fat diet recommendable? [published correction appears in Eur J Nutr. 2019 Apr 16;:]. Eur J Nutr. 2018;57(4):1301-1312. doi:10.1007/s00394-018-1636-y
- Hu T, Yao L, Reynolds K, et al. The effects of a low-carbohydrate diet on appetite: A randomized controlled trial. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2016;26(6):476-88. doi:10.1016/j.numecd.2015.11.011
- Gardner CD, Trepanowski JF, Del Gobbo LC, Hauser ME, Rigdon J, Ioannidis JPA, Desai M, King AC. Effect of low-fat vs low-carbohydrate diet on 12-month weight loss in overweight adults and the association with genotype pattern or insulin secretion: the dietfits randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2018 Feb 20;319(7):667-679. doi: 10.1001/jama.2018.0245.
- The Skinny on Low-Carb Diets. Harvard Men's Health Watch. Harvard Medical School.
- Browning JD, et al. Alterations in hepatic glucose and energy metabolism as a result of calorie and carbohydrate restriction. Hepatology. 2008 Nov;48(5):1487-96. doi:10.1002/hep.22504
- Lennerz BS et al. Effects of dietary glycemic index on brain regions related to reward and craving in men. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2013 Sep;98(3):641-7. doi:10.3945/ajcn.113.064113
- Santos FL, Esteves, SS, da Costa Pereira A, Yancy WS Jr Nunes JP. Systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials of the effects of low carbohydrate diets on cardiovascular risk factors. Obesity Reviews. 2012;13(11):1048-66. doi:10.1111/j.1467-789X.2012.01021.x
- Shai I, et al. Weight loss with a low-carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or low-fat diet. N Engl J Med. 2008;359:229-241. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa0708681
Writer Bio
Jake Wayne has written professionally for more than 12 years, including assignments in business writing, national magazines and book-length projects. He has a psychology degree from the University of Oregon and black belts in three martial arts.