Feeling hungry? Diet sodas might be what’s causing you to want to eat more
Many people prefer to drink diet soda to reduce their sugar intake but artificial sweeteners have health hazards of their own.
Diet soda drinks first appeared commercially in the 1960s, marketed as low-calorie soft drinks and aimed at those who want reduce their sugar intake, lose weight or both.
These carbonated drinks contain sugar substitutes or artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame and saccharin, which provide the same sweetness as table sugar, without the calories.
With the global diet soda market growing year on year (with the average American annually consuming approximately 38.87 gallons of them), concerns have been raised about the harmful health effects of both sugar and their artificial alternatives.
Excessive consumption of both has been linked to obesity, tooth decay to more serious conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease - and possibly cancer. In 2023, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) published findings of an investigation which labeled aspartame as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”.
Diet sodas trick your brain into thinking you are hungry
Even those who only drink diet soda in moderation could also be subconsciously rewiring their brains, changing how their metabolism regulates hunger.
Several studies have put forward an argument that some artificial sweeteners stimulate part of the brain involved in hunger signaling. So while you may think you are quenching your thirst, your brain responds by sending out messages telling you to eat.
A study led by Professor Kathleen Page at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC), looked into how the non-nutritive artificial sweetener sucralose affects the brain and our appetite.
It found that intake of sucralose-sweetened beverages increased increased hunger, while sucrose-sweetened beverages reduced blood flow and hunger.
“When the brain gets a signal of sweetness, it’s anticipating that nutrients will follow,” Professor Page explains. When that doesn’t happen, the brain begins sending out signals, telling us that our body needs energy “because it is still looking for nutrients”.
Which artificial sweeteners are used in soda in the US?
The US Food and drug Administration (FDA) states that artificial sweeteners, including aspartame, are safe “at current permitted use levels”.
There are six sweeteners authorized by the FDA that are classified as safe for the general population under certain conditions of use: aspartame, acesulfame potassium (Ace-K), sucralose, neotame, advantame and saccharin.
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