Health officials are not too sweet on diet soft drinks either
By Stephen Smith
Globe Staff / August 3, 2009
So nutritionists and public-health authorities are telling us to put the lid on high-test sodas, energy drinks, and fruit-flavored beverages. What’s a person supposed to drink now?
Water is an obvious choice (spiked, maybe, with a slice of orange or a chunk of cucumber). But what about diet soft drinks? Are they a safe, healthy option?
“We’ve looked at this,’’ said Dr. Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health, “and make no mistake: They’re a whole lot better than full-sugared beverages.’’
But a 2007 study led by a Boston University scientist cast a ray of doubt. When examining middle-age participants in the Framingham Heart Study, researchers discovered that sugary sodas and diet soft drinks alike boosted the risk of metabolic syndrome, a condition that increases the risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
Dr. David Ludwig of Children’s Hospital Boston cautions that artificially sweetened diet drinks may alter our sense of taste. They may even make us hungrier later in the day. That’s because the sweet sensation delivered by the drinks primes our metabolism to expect a rush of calories. The calories, of course, never arrive, so the metabolic response is left wondering what to do - and that process may, later on, make us feel hungry.
“I view these products as transitional, as helping people get off the habit of consuming large amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages,’’ Ludwig said. “I encourage my patients not to stay there, but to continue onward to more healthful beverages.’’
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company. |
