Don't Drink Diet Soda

I have to say... I'm a big fan of Diet Soda. I survived on Mc'donald's Coke Light all throughout the last 3 years of med school. My close friends know that.

Whenever I went Mc-donald's-ing with my tailo, Kean Yew (who's now in Ipoh btw), he'd automatically say, "Change her drink to Coke Light!" whenever he placed my orders. Subsequently, he was also quite hooked on it.

However, last week, my CG leader, Tairven warned me about Diet Soda.

Then this week, I received my weekly women's health magazine subscription, and read up the truth 'bout Diet Soda in their Eat This, Not That guide:

1. You’ll Gain Weight
It may have only 5 or fewer calories per serving, but emerging research suggests that consuming sugary-tasting beverages—even if they're artificially sweetened—may lead to a high preference for sweetness overall. That means sweeter (and more caloric) cereal, bread, dessert—everything.

2. You'll Miss Out On Nutrients
Diet soda is 100% nutrition-free, and again, it's just as important to actively drink the good stuff as it is to avoid that bad stuff. So one diet soda a day is fine, but if you're downing five or six cans, that means you're limiting your intake of healthful beverages, particularly water and tea.

3. Diet Soda Contains Aspartame
Aspartame is 180 times sweeter than sugar, and some animal research has linked consumption of high amounts of the sweetener to brain tumors and lymphoma in rodents. The FDA maintains that the sweetener is safe, but reported side effects include dizziness, headaches, diarrhea, memory loss, and mood changes.
(Hm, I remember the dizziness, headaches, diarrhoea... but memory loss and mood changes? Golly-schmolly, you mean, Diet Soda caused my memory loss and mood changes?:P)

Bottom line: Diet soda does you no good, and it might just be doing you wrong.

Yikes! Time to cut out Diet Coke from my monthly consumption!