Diet Coke bottles stacked and kept ready for dispatch (Photo : Getty images/ Bloomberg / Contributor)
Diet Coke is a sugary drink and for those who want to cut down some weight, it will actually bring opposite results. A new study conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital, it was found that aspartame - an artificial sweetener contained in beverages like Diet Coke - actually throws up some roadblocks in weight loss journey.
The study as published in Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism, it was found that aspartame inhibits Intestinal Alkaline Phosphatase (IAP), a gut enzyme that scientists trust in preventing obesity.
In an effort to examine aspartame's effects on IAP, the researchers observed four groups of mice over a period of four weeks.
Two groups of mice were fed a high-fat diet, as one received drinking water having aspartame and the other just plain water.
The other two groups were fed normal diet - one with aspartame water and the other with plain water. Those drinking aspartame water absorbed a proportion of more than three cans of diet soda per day.
"While there was little difference between the weights of the two groups fed a normal diet, mice on a high-fat diet that received aspartame gained more weight than did those on the same diet that received plain water," researchers say.
Civilized reported that additionally, it was found that the mice that received aspartame water had higher blood pressure as well higher blood sugar levels and this research theorized as evidence of glucose intolerance.
"Both aspartame-receiving groups had higher levels of the inflammatory protein TNF-alpha in their blood, which suggests the kind of systemic inflammation associated with metabolic syndrome" Science Daily says.
Vox referred that diet sodas have always been marketed as weight loss tools. This promotes an idea that people enjoy the sweetness of regular soda, without all the calories and weight gain.
However, some scientists are doubtful that diet soft drinks which contain artificial sweeteners deliver vis-à-vis marketing intents.
A new study published in PLOS tracked users of low-calorie sweeteners in soda for 10 years and compared with those who don't use artificial sugar. It was found that low-calorie sweetener users are heavier and also showed larger waists and abdominal obesity than the non-users.
