You’ve decided not to drink full-sugar soft drinks, but is it any better to drink diet soda? Before you buy a twelve-pack of Diet Pepsi, check out the latest health advice about the effects of artificially sweetened soft drinks.

Soda pop (both diet and full-sugar) eats away at the enamel on your teeth. The problem is phosphoric acid, a corrosive acid that erodes enamel. Full-sugar sodas are the absolute worst because the acid and sugar mixed together becomes a potent corrosive bath for your vulnerable teeth. However, diet sodas also hurt teeth.

You might be changing to diet soft drinks as a means to lose weight, but sadly, doctors are finding diet sodas to be obstacles to weight loss. The latest studies show a link between diet soda consumption and obesity. According to recent studies, the number of diet beverages you drink per day is related to your chances of being overweight.

Doctors and lay people alike are confused by this, wondering how diet soft drinks could be linked to weight problems when the drinks are low or zero calorie. Doctors are trying to get to the root of this mystery. Some researchers hypothesize that artificial sweeteners trick your body into thinking it requires more sweeteners, making you crave and eat too many sweets overall. Another group of doctors have put forth the idea that artificial sweeteners may affect your body differently than sugar, making your body respond inappropriately to real calories, hindering metabolism. In any case, it looks like dieters should limit the number of diet soft drinks they imbibe each day.

It can be difficult to stop drinking all soft drinks, so it may help to remind yourself that sound health advice recommends you do so. You may find seltzer water to be a palatable substitute. At least you’ll get the carbonation, even if you don’t get the intense flavor or sweetness. You can find citrus and berry flavored seltzer waters in most grocery stores.

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