- A Harvard-trained gastroenterologist revealed four scary facts about diet soda
- The viral video was made by Dr. Saurabh Sethi, who is based in California
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A Harvard and Stanford trained gastroenterologist has revealed four scary facts about diet soda – and why you may not want to drink them anymore.
Dr. Saurabh Sethi, who is based in California, has more than two decades of clinical experience and practices at clinics in the San Francisco area.
In a video posted recently to his TikTok, the doctor posed the question about whether or not diet soda was actually healthier than regular soda, and shared four facts about the diet product that you may not know about.
The first truth he spoke about was actually quite scary.
‘First, women who drink two or more diet sodas daily face a significantly higher risk of heart attack and stroke,’ Dr. Sethi began.
His statement was based off of a study released in 2019 by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association, which linked having artificially sweetened drinks to an increase in these diseases in women who are over 50 years old, per CNN.
And, interestingly enough, the risk for a heart attack or stroke was the highest in women who didn’t have any history of heart disease or diabetes, the outlet reported.
Next, Dr. Sethi claimed that drinking diet soda could also be linked to kidney disease.
‘The high phosphorus content in diet sodas can contribute to chronic kidney disease,’ he said in the video.
His assertion is supported by the National Kidney Foundation, who cited a study that found that drinking two or more diet sodas per day can cause harm to the kidneys.
The study tested a group of women who all had healthy, functioning kidneys in the beginning of the trial.
However, they found that people who drank diet soda experienced three times the decline in their glomerular filtration rate – something that can help measure how well your kidneys work – than those who didn’t drink diet soda.
During the study, there was an obvious link between kidney function and consuming diet soda – so the National Kidney Foundation recommends drinking water instead.
The third fact Dr. Sethi shared was that drinking diet sodas can ‘negatively impact insulin sensitivity’ and ‘disrupt gut microbiome,’ which means that it can affect your gut health.
Having good gut health is extremely important to your overall health, as it can help aid in digestion, immunity, and more.
You need to have a healthy amount of good bacteria in your gut in order to fight off certain diseases.
Finally, the doctor said that diet sodas can ‘increase cravings for high-calorie foods, disrupting appetite control.’
According to a 2021 study published in the JAMA Open Network, found that sucralose, which is a common ingredient in diet sodas like Pepsi One and Diet Mountain Dew, can increase appetite.
The researchers explained that consuming things with sucralose can have ‘greater neural reward responses’ in the brain.
‘Ultimately, diet sodas offer no nutritional benefits,’ Dr. Sethi concluded.
