Stacks of research have linked drinking regular soda with obesity. But diet soda's not the answer either. New research has found that adults who drink either regular soda (otherwise known as liquid candy) or diet soda have about a 50 percent higher risk of metabolic syndrome — a condition marked by high blood sugar, high blood pressure, high triglycerides and obesity. All these double your risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
Another study, out of the University of Texas, noted that drinking even one diet soda a day increased the risk for being overweight by 41 percent. How? It may be that the sweet taste without the calories somehow affects our primitive appetite control mechanism in our brains. This then triggers cravings and causes us to eat much more food. It's like we are searching for those "missing" calories. Plus, most diet sodas contain aspartame, the artificial sweetener which breaks down in the body to formaldehyde, a known poison. So, when it comes to soda, I listen to my friend and colleague Dr. Jonny Bowden: "Bottom line: soda's just about the worst drink possible — and that goes for both regular and diet versions."
Stick to water. Even if you aren't on a fat loss program, you should still be drinking at least 64 ounces of water a day to maintain a normal healthy metabolism. If you have trouble getting enough, try keeping a 32-ounce bottle with you that you can refill. Put one in your car, office, gym bag, airplane, hotel room, business meeting, social gathering and every other possible event or place that I didn't mention. It should be a part of you wherever you go. Always. The best kind of water is either distilled or purified. However, almost all municipal water in this country is so good that we don't ever really need to import another bottle from France or some obscure island.
