Can I drink diet soda while intermittent fasting?
In this article, we are going to discuss and answer the question “Can I drink diet soda while intermittent fasting?”. I will include the harmful effects diet soda has on the body, and the nutritional value it has.
In addition to that, I will define intermittent fasting and its types. I will also mention the benefits of intermittent fasting and some healthier alternatives to have other than diet soda.
Can I drink diet soda while intermittent fasting?
To preserve the benefits of intermittent fasting, it is better not to drink diet soda. Also, diet soda due to the high level of sweetness would make you crave more sugar and ultimately break your intermittent fasting.
Diet soda contains 0 grams of carb, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of protein, and 0 grams of sugar in a can. Diet soda contains no vitamins or minerals, yet it contains caffeine. The quantity of caffeine depends on the type of brand. This makes the drink an empty drink providing additional benefits or nutrients.
Diet sodas have been linked to many health issues over the years. Despite the removal of sugar, and replacement with a sweetener, it does not eliminate all the harmful effects it might contain.
Sweeteners are so much sweeter than sugar, by 200 times almost. Consumption of these sweeteners in a regular manner would change the way you taste sweets and food. It will alter your taste buds messing with the threshold of sweetness that satisfies you.
When you eat sweets, your taste buds get used to a certain level of sweetness, with artificial sweeteners, however, the level of sweetness you are satisfied with will increase. This is due to the high levels of sweetness these artificial sweeteners have.
This will make you more likely to consume more calories and food, especially sweets to reach the level of sweetness
What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern. It is a period of eating followed by fasting and not eating. Fasting helps in many ways and it differs as well. Some people fast for 16 hours straight and then eat for certain periods of time. It includes from 12 pm to 8 pm.
Another type of intermittent fasting is fasting for 24 hours straight. Basically fasting the whole day, it can be done from one to two days a week.
The last type of intermittent fasting is calorie restrictive. It happens when you reduce your calories to less than 600 calories for 2 days in a week.
What are the benefits of intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting comes with many benefits for our health. For starters, it helps reduce your blood sugar levels. High blood sugar levels for a long period of time would lead to an increase in the risk of developing diabetes.
If you are not consuming as much food for a long period of time, your body will produce less insulin. Insulin is responsible for the reduction in blood sugar by letting glucose in cells be used for energy, while excess glucose will be stored for later use.
The spike in insulin due to the consumption of high glycemic food is not a healthy pattern. Intermittent fasting helps reduce blood sugar and insulin secretion in the blood. This makes you use less insulin.
When less insulin is used, you are more likely to have insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Too much insulin secretion will increase your risk for insulin resistance.
Intermittent fasting also helps burn fat. This makes you lose weight from fat and not muscle mass. When losing weight it is essential to preserve your muscle mass and exercise to prevent any muscle mass loss.
What are some healthier alternatives to diet soda while following an intermittent fasting diet?
Replacing diet soda with healthier alternatives can help foster the benefits of intermittent fasting.
Water is one of the best alternatives to diet soda. It helps hydrate the body, flush out toxins and preserve kidney function. It also reduces the risk of the development of kidney stones.
Green tea is beneficial to health and can be consumed while following an intermittent fasting diet. It is filled with antioxidants that fight off the aging of cells from free radicals
Conclusion
In this article, we discussed and answered the question “Can I drink diet soda while intermittent fasting?”.I included the harmful effects diet soda has on the body, and the nutritional value it has. In addition to that, I defined intermittent fasting and its types.
I also mentioned the benefits of intermittent fasting and some healthier alternatives to have other than diet soda.
References
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/what-is-intermittent-fasting#TOC_TITLE_HDR_4
Can You Drink Diet Soda While Intermittent Fasting? (amlagreen.com)
