So let’s talk about pop again. I know what some of you are saying: “Leave my pop alone, you jerk!” I don’t mind being called names if you find some healthy benefit from it (both the name-calling and the fact that you need to understand pop).
Likely as addictive as alcohol to some, soda pop has avoided ridicule in mainstream literature for some time. It is only recently that notable medical journals such as the New York Times and USA Today are starting to report what some of us have been talking about for years. If you have weight related concerns, avoiding pop, both regular and diet, is a very wise thing to do. I will not get into the numerous physiologic, metabolic, hormonal, and medical reasons why quitting all forms of pop, including diet, is vital for your overall health. As weight seems to be the concerning issue in most people’s minds, I will use my small column to report on yet another study reporting weight gain seen with calorie free soda.
The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society recently reported that people who drank diet soda over a nine-year period had increases in weight gain – particularly abdominal weight gain – three times that of those who did not drink diet sodas. Abdominal belly fat, as you recall, is really bad stuff. It’s directly related to inflammatory conditions, diabetes, and heart disease, to name but a few.
This brings up a totally separate, yet possibly more important question. How can you gain weight without calories? If you have been reading any of my recent columns or articles, you should have some idea why this is. I will get into more detail very soon, as changing your approach to weight loss (or your understanding of the reason behind non-calorie related weight gain and loss) is a very powerful tool in your weight loss goals.
Until then: do something healthy for yourself – stop drinking all forms of soda pop.
