Diet Soft Drinks for Healthy Kids
Should I be drinking diet soft drink everyday?
You are right to be concerned about the excess sugar that is so abundant in the diet of the average Australian, in light of the obesity epidemic, especially in school aged children. Sugary soft-drinks have been shouldering much of the blame for the bulging waistlines of the nations youth, however switching to diet soft drinks is not the answer. While it solves the problem of consuming large quantities of excess sugar, it brings up several other serious issues that you may be unaware of.
Bone Health
Calcium is an important nutrient in your daily diet. Calcium works in conjunction with
phosphorus and vitamin D to build bone density in childhood and maintain it through
your adult life. Maintaining good bone density is important in preventing fractures
and osteoporosis later in life.
Most soft drink, including diet soft drink, contain phosphoric acid which is added to
stop the bubbles from going flat and to add that ‘tangy’ flavour. Phosphoric acid
leaches calcium from your bones. This causes the bones to weaken and become
brittle and more prone to breaks.
The findings from the Australian National Children's Nutrition and Physical Activity
Survey indicate that children are not meeting their daily dietary calcium needs. In
fact, a staggering 82–89 percent of girls and 44% of boys between the ages of 12–
16 years do not meet the estimated average requirement. Combine this fact with
daily soft drink consumption and you have one bone weakening combination!
Tooth Decay
Diet soft drink may not cause dental decay like its full sugar varieties, but may
increase your risk of dental erosion. Soft drink has a pH between 2.4 and 3.1 which
makes it highly acidic. Not only does the acid in diet soft drink leach calcium from
your bones, it can irreversibly damage dental structure by dissolving your teeth
(erosion). It is the position of the Australian Dental Association that you minimize the
amount of soft drink, including diet soft drink, you consume. Brushing your teeth
straight after consumption won’t help either. This may cause further damage to teeth
by brushing off their important enamel coating.
Nutrient Deficiencies
This is not about what you drink, its about what you DON’T eat or drink. Diet soft
drink contains no nutritional value and drinking it in place of other options means
you may be missing out on important vitamins and minerals. Milk is a better option
as it contains important nutrients like protein and also contains calcium which, as
mentioned above, is much needed in the diets of Australia’s children and youths.
Appetite
There is some evidence to suggest that drinking diet soft drink means that you
develop a taste for sweet foods and drinks. Opting for soft drink, even diet soft drink,
can put you at greater risk of weight gain and the problems mentioned above due to
a greater preference for sugar and sweet sensation. In addition to this there are also
studies that indicate that drinking diet soft drink can increase your appetite. Your
tongue gets the sweet taste and your body prepares to digest the kilojoule-laden
food that follows. Because those kilojoules never arrive your body further stimulates
your appetite, so you eat more.
Artificial Sweeteners
All diet soft drinks are sweetened with artificial sweeteners such as sucralose,
Acesulfame potassium and aspartame. Although Food Standards Australia and New
Zealand (FSANZ) have reviewed the evidence and deemed artificial sweeteners safe
for use in food and beverages in Australia, their effects on the body and brain remain
controversial. Some studies have linked these chemicals to cancer, and in large
doses they can cause gastrointestinal upset and headaches.
TAKE HOME MESSAGE – Think of diet soft drink as a lower kilojoule alternative to
regular soft drink. It may contain less sugar but has all the other drawbacks of the full
sugar variety. Only drink them as often as you would drink regular soft drink, not every
day.
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