Dr Oz: Diet Soda Linked To Belly Fat
Approximately 64 million people drink diet soda and many likely began drinking it in hopes of cutting calories, reducing sugar, and even losing weigh. A brand new study, however, has found that diet soda could actually be keeping your belly fat. Diet soda has been linked to heart disease, cancer, and now belly fat.
New research from the journal of the American Geriatrics Society suggested that people who drink diet soda gain almost triple the belly fat of those who don’t drink soda. The study, which lasted for 10 years, found that non-diet soda drinkers gained .8 inches while occasional diet soda drinkers added about two inches to their waist and daily diet soda drinkers added three inches to their waist.
After sharing that diet sodas have been linked to more belly fat, Dr Oz shared a plan to help you gradually cut back until you give it up completely. (darwinbell / Flickr)
Dr Oz: Regular Diet Soda Drinkers
Dr Oz then explained that when a person drinks water and a little too much food, they put on a little weight, but it’s evenly distributed throughout the body. When someone drinks diet soda instead of the water, they still put on that weight, but it specifically targets the belly. Dr Oz turned to three women who admit to drinking diet soda regularly. The first two women drink three cans a day, while the third drinks five a day. All three women are self conscious about their belly fat.
The women admitted that they thought they could drink diet soda without guilt because it’s calorie- and sugar-free.
The women acknowleged that they felt like they couldn’t give up the diet soda, but certainly didn’t want to live with the belly fat. Because of that, Dr Oz came up with a plan that he thought would suit them perfectly. Dr Oz brought in addiction specialist Mike Dow to share how you can give up diet soda, without going cold turkey, in order to get rid of your abdominal fat associated with it.
Dr Oz: Cut Back On Diet Soda + Healthy Replacements
Mike Dow explained that it’s important to use a three-prong approach. You first want to reduce the diet soda as much as possible, while also reducing belly fat. Third, you want to focus on high-satiety foods which will keep you fuller longer. You should first gradually reduce your daily diet soda consumption, using a step-down plan. If you’re having five sodas a day, cut it down to four for a couple days, then three, then two, all the way down until you’re not drinking any.
In order to to compensate for no longer drinking diet soda, Dr Oz wanted to come up with a healthier alternative to replace it with. He had die-hard diet soda drinkers on his staff try a few drinks to see what they liked most. They tried black cherry sparkling water, a black cherry sparkling drink, raspberry sparkling water, blackberry water, a lemon-lime seltzer, and sparkling green tea. So what did they like the most?
Sparkling black cherry water, the carbonated black cherry water, the carbonated lemon, and the sparkling lime water.
Dr Oz: Tackle Belly Fat With Fiber
To take on your belly fat, it’s important to consume more viscous fiber. You should try eating more Brussels sprouts, apricots, sweet potatoes, mangoes, asparagus, oranges, and turnips. They will keep you fuller longer and taste delicious!
Finally, reach for white potatoes! They can keep you full for three times longer than the average food!
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