Love of Diet Soda....Research on Diet Drinks

So, I have just come across yet another reason to love diet soda, other than the tasty taste. Yesterday, the New York Times featured an article by long time columnist Jane Brody called, "Sweeteners - Real Aid or Excuse to Indulge?" Judging from the title I thought for sure the article was going to lambaste sweeteners and diet soda (and therefore diet soda lovers!) but luckily I was wrong. The article is actually really informative.

Did you know that cutting just 100 calories per day could save you ten pounds in a year? According to the article, research by Dr. George Blackburn and colleagues found that among dieters who were randomly assigned to have liquid calories or "artificially" sweetened drinks for almost three and a half years, the diet drinkers took in 100 fewer calories a day while losing significantly more weight and keeping more of it off.

The article also poses the question that seems to be a topic of much debate lately, "Does a weight problem prompt people to try to cut calories, or does the consumption of artificial sweeteners lead to their weight problem?" I can certainly understand this as, if you are anything like me, a spoonful of sugar may be easily replaced by a spoonful of low calorie sweetener, but those calorie savings are easily replaced by an extra cookie or slice of cake.

The good news is this, according to the research cited in the New York Times article, diet soda lovers can have their pop and drink it too, and their waste lines will thank them!