“It’s diet soda so it has to be good for you right?” Wrong.

To the surprise of many Americans, many of the diet sodas being touted as a healthy alternative to the more popular and unhealthy, high-fructose sodas such as Pepsi and Coca-Cola are in fact just as harmful to your body and your health.

Many of us are familiar with the infamous chicken bone test — the test in which a chicken bone was placed into a cup of Mountain Dew and disintegrated overnight into oblivion. Such decay was due in part to the phosphoric acid contained in soda which leaches calcium from your bones after every drink. Since that study, medical researchers have continuously broadcasted the harmful effects of daily soda consumption.

Overtime, drinking soda causes your body to become dehydrated due to its caffeine and sugar makeup. Instead of quenching your thirst, a can of soda actually makes you thirstier as the sugar you are ingesting acts as a diuretic of sorts. With so much bad news floating around about regular soda pop, there has been an increasing flock towards diet soda. Many Americans operate under the belief that because the can says “diet,” it must be good for the body. This is a misconception that needs to be nipped in the bud.

Contrary to popular belief, research has shown that consumption of diet soda is no more beneficial to your health than the removal of regular soda. In fact, in an 8 year study performed by the University of Texas, researchers found that those individuals who made the switch to diet soft drinks increased their risk for obesity by as much as 41 percent. In some cases, soda drinkers gained more weight after switching to diet soda than before they made the switch.

So what makes diet soda so fattening and why aren’t more Americans aware of this alarming fact? The answer is two-fold. One reason why Americans are not privy to the harmful effects of diet soda is due in part to the fact that diet sodas are touted as the low to no calorie alternative for your caffeine fixation. Because regular soda is high in calories, and Americans equate calories as the enemy, diet soda has reigned supreme as the alternative.

In actuality however, while diet soda may contain less calories, the artificial sweeteners in diet sodas that help give it taste also create negative hormonal responses in the your body. Such responses cause your body to crave more of sweets and even increases fat storing hormone production. As a result, instead of craving more food, your body craves more soda. Overtime, diet soda drinkers find themselves packing on more calories that they believe are due to the various foods they are eating, yet the culprit is staring them right in the face.

In the end, if you wish to decrease your intake of sugars, whether high fructose or in the form of artificial sweeteners, it is best that all soda consumption be removed from your diet and in its place should be healthy fruit drinks, or nature’s best friend: water.

Do you eat a lot of sugar? Have you increasingly gained weight and become fat? Have you recently been to the doctor only to have him tell you that your blood sugar level is high? Have you been unwittingly storing up fat and calories without even knowing it? Are you consistently in the habit of eating foods with high sugar content?

If you have been doing any of these, know that your appointment with the doctor isn’t far off. Research has proven that foods with a high Glycemic Index value (71+) often tend to increase the blood sugar levels, build up calories and increase the amount of fat stored in the body. This is not only limited to carbs and fats. Even some fruits such as watermelon have been proven to have a high GI index.

Anyhow, excessive sugar intake can do a lot of harm to your body, not just in terms of the fat or weight gain, but also in the tendency to fall ill with diabetes. Of course, out of the 2 types of diabetes, one is genetically induced while the other is caused by downing too much sugar. So, if you are the sugar-grabbing type, you may just want to go easy on those a little. Apart from diabetes, nutritional and fitness experts have proven that the increase in blood sugar triggered by over-indulging in high GI value carbs which inadvertently increase the insulin level is also responsible for the rates of reported incidences of cardiac arrest, heart disease, and insulin resistance.

Does this mean you should keep away from all foods with some form of sugar? No! Please note that it is good to take carbohydrates and fruits in the required amounts; as sugar is necessary if an individual must have the necessary and required energy to go through his necessary daily activities. Sugars both in complex and simple forms are found in fruits, breads, pastas, potatoes, and of course sweets such as candies, cakes, pies and ice cream.

Research has shown that carbs are the best sources of energy available and the less synthesized or processed, the better it is for the body. This is because natural carbs contain lesser complex sugars and have lower GI value. These types of carbohydrates do not dump sugar in the blood. Their rate of metabolism is slower ensures that glucose is slowly released into the blood stream.

If you want to stay lean without necessarily letting go of carbs, then you will need the following:

Vegetables and Fruit: These not only have minimal amounts of calories, they are also rich in minerals, fiber, and vitamins. This basically ensures that your diet is healthy particularly if you want to get rid of the extra fat. Research results have shown that individuals who take a lot fruits and vegetables are less likely to suffer heart diseases. To get the best results, take a minimum of five fruit and vegetable helpings every day.

Grains: Some of these are rice, and pasta. Go for the unrefined whole grains as they are far better in terms of nutrition and have medium GI value. This means they are safe for daily consumption and often contain a large amount of fiber.