How to Quit Soda and Diet Sodas - Ask a Nutritionist

Transcript:

AMY: Welcome to Dishing Up Nutrition's “Ask a Nutritionist” podcast brought to you by Nutritional Weight & Wellness. My name is Amy Crum, and I'm a Registered and Licensed Dietitian. We are thrilled to be celebrating 20 years on air, discussing the connection between what you eat and how you feel. Thank you for your support and listenership over the years.

And if you've enjoyed this show, let us know by leaving a review and a rating on your favorite podcast platform, because your feedback helps others find these important real food messages. Now let's get started. As a dietitian, one of the most common things I work on with my clients is breaking the soda or diet soda habit.

Lately, I've been getting so many questions about all the soda alternatives that are popular on the market these days. So, I want to talk with you today about our take on soda and what to look for in a soda alternative. These days, many people are trying to quit regular or diet soda and want to find a replacement that fulfills that craving for something sweet and bubbly and sometimes caffeinated.

If this sounds like you, you are certainly not alone. The reality is that the average American consumes about a 12 ounce can of soda or diet soda every day. So it's no wonder why there are so many alternatives on the market to help people choose healthier options and kick their soda habit. So let's look at why we recommend avoiding soda and diet soda in the first place.

Why we recommend avoiding regular & diet soda

Regular non diet soda here in the U.S. is made with high fructose corn syrup, which is a sugar that's actually really hard on your liver to process. Drinking all this high fructose corn syrup not only contributes to weight gain and obesity, but it's a key factor in type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and the increasingly common nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

There is no nutrition in soda. It's just pure sugar, food coloring, and phosphoric acid, which can be harmful to bone health over time. Soda is something we never recommend drinking and frequently work with our clients to help cut it out of their diet.

But what about diet soda? When this first came on the market, it seemed like an ideal option. It has zero calories. What could be the harm? It turns out that artificial sweeteners like aspartame and diet soda actually do cause harm to your health. Would you believe me when I tell you the artificial sweeteners and diet sodas create more cravings for sugar and sweets and may even prevent weight loss?

The artificial sweeteners of diet soda mislead the brain into expecting unfulfilled calories, leading to increased hunger and the potential for overeating. So you drink the diet soda, your brain senses something sweet, and your digestive system goes into work mode. Your mouth secretes saliva from your salivary glands to start the digestive process.

Your stomach juices activate for the incoming food and your pancreas starts pumping out insulin to escort the incoming sugar into the cells to be used for energy. There is actually no sugar for the insulin to use, so now you've got an excessive insulin floating around in your bloodstream. Eventually insulin drops and your blood sugar crashes, leading to cravings, and especially those sugar cravings.

Let's say you do this day after day, drinking diet soda. Your pancreas is going to get worn out from pumping out insulin that is met with no sugar to bring it into the cells. It's like the boy who cried wolf that it keeps getting the message that sugar is coming and the sugar never comes. Some experts call this insulin confusion.

So the pancreas gets tired and stops working efficiently. This is how over time, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes can develop. Then you want more and more sugar, whether real or artificial, to try and bring those blood sugars back up after crashing. This cycle of cravings and the habitual nature of soda consumption make it a challenging habit to break.

It turns out that soda and diet soda lights up the addictive parts of your brain just like a chemical drug. In fact, in studies, rats will choose a sweetened beverage over cocaine, even when the rats were already cocaine users. That's how powerful these sodas are, whether they are sweetened with real sugar, high fructose corn syrup, or artificial sweeteners like aspartame and diet soda.

What are some good diet soda alternatives?

Now let's talk about diet soda alternatives. When I walk through the grocery stores, I see tons of options for carbonated soda replacements. Some even offer health claims like ingredients that improve your gut health. The reality is this: if you really want to improve and optimize your gut health , the best way to do that isn't soda.

It's by consuming the highest quality sources of food and drinking clean water and taking quality gut health supplements like probiotics. If you are looking for soda alternatives, I have some suggestions. First would be flavored carbonated water with no sugar or artificial sweeteners. Like I mentioned, there are a ton of different brands out there.

Just watch for alternative sweeteners. Sugar alcohols are often found in these alternative sodas. One common one is erythritol, which is a popular sugar alcohol, which is naturally calorie free. Some people can't tolerate sugar alcohols properly, and they can cause some GI issues like gas, bloating, and even diarrhea.

Erythritol is found in a lot of keto or low carb food products as a sugar substitute. So if that's something that gives you issues, I would definitely stay away from those products. One caution I have with relying on canned and bottled beverages is that they can contain harmful chemicals like BPA and PFAs, or those forever chemicals.

Even among different brands of sparkling waters, some flavors can test higher than others in BPA content in the can lining. There are certain brands that state BPA free, so you can look out for those on the label. I also like to suggest plain carbonated water or soda water and adding some stevia drops.

On our Nutrikey.net site, we carry a brand called Sweet Drops, which comes in a few different flavors. You can find Stevia Drops with soda flavors like cola, root beer, or cream soda. This helps if you're craving that specific soda flavor. Even with these options, we ideally recommend keeping it to one can a day.

Some studies suggest that the phosphoric acid in bottled carbonated beverages can interfere with calcium absorption, potentially weakening bones over time. In the end, there is no right or wrong way to stop drinking soda, as long as your end goal is to kick the soda habit in a way that works for you.

We recommend getting your hydration from drinking plain water or with some fruit or herbs like a lemon wedge or cucumber and mint if you really dislike the taste of plain water. However, if you're somebody who hates drinking plain water, it might be a sign of poor gut health. In fact, studies show that artificial sweeteners alter the gut microbiome, so it would make sense that chronic diet soda consumption changes your gut health to the point of disliking the taste of plain water.

This disruption in the microbiome is thought to be part of the reason why it's harder to lose weight while chronically drinking diet soda. In fact, in studies, rats who are fed with artificial sweeteners consistently gain weight more often than rats who are fed with natural sugars. Additionally, the rats don't tend to lose the excess weight even after their diets are switched back to natural sugars.

If this sounds like you, you find it hard to quit diet soda, you don't like the taste of plain water, and you struggle with losing weight, I would recommend scheduling a nutrition counseling appointment. Our dietitians can help you make a plan that works for you and go at your own pace.

Schedule Nutrition Counseling

Balance blood sugar to decrease cravings

As nutritionists, we always think about food first. Did you know that you can decrease sugar and soda cravings simply by eating balanced real food meals? When we eat animal proteins, healthy fats, and vegetables or fruit carbohydrates in balance, our blood sugars stay nice and steady and our brains desire for sweet treats and sugary drinks typically decreases.

Typically, I find that when cravings for soda or diet soda come in the middle of the afternoon, it's correlated to a blood sugar drop. Sometimes I even find myself in the position of craving something sweet or bubbly a few hours after my lunch. As a dietitian, I can recognize that my blood sugar is low.

So once I eat a balanced snack, protein, healthy fat, and fruit or vegetable carb, my craving for something sweet and bubbly goes away. Try it for yourself and see how you feel before and after that afternoon snack. See if that craving goes away. Also, over time, when eating a balanced real food diet, our taste buds become used to less sweetness.

And when you drink diet soda, you'll notice it starts tasting less desirable. I see this when working with my clients. After quitting soda or diet soda and eating a real food balanced diet, they will try a soda again and it tastes way too sweet. Or in the case of diet soda, it could taste like pure chemicals.

It is possible to change your taste buds and stop your cravings. And myself and many of our clients are proof. I want to thank you all again for listening to Dishing Up Nutrition's “Ask a Nutritionist”. And if you found this episode helpful, be sure to leave us a rating or review on your favorite podcast app.

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