Fizzy drinks cause weight gain?

May 8, 2021 11:28 AM

I've been gaining weight. I did start drinking NO-SUGAR sodas again, like one a day, but was gaining before that. And I don't eat any more than I ever have. So: do carbonated drinks cause a change in metabolism, therefore weight gain? My sodas have stevia, sometimes aspartame.
posted by noelpratt2nd to Health & Fitness (16 answers total)

They don't have calories, but they can still influence your gut's microbiome.

From that link: " The consumption of NNSs, mainly in diet sodas, has been related to an increased risk of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and T2D (8–12), although some studies did not find any association (13, 14). "
posted by aniola at 12:39 PM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]

Are you pre-diabetic? Artificially sweetened sodas can cause insulin spikes.

If you were gaining before though, my guess is something changed in your metabolism. (If you’re sure your intake is the same.) Have you lost muscle mass for any reason? (I have - I’m active and I have weights at home but I just don’t find it the same...which is fine, it’s a global pandemic.)
posted by warriorqueen at 1:49 PM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]

The wife and I have sworn off sodas for several years now, and LOVE the upswing in different brands of fizzy water, such as Bubly, La Croix, and the Publix (Greenwise) and Aldi brands. I would highly recommend them if you are hankering for the carbonation and fizz, and need to do away with the sweeteners.
Note: Some brands such as WalMart's have aspartame, highly recommend reading the label before purchasing.
posted by Bill Watches Movies Podcast at 2:13 PM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Not prediabetic, though I was for a while decades ago. I too quit soft drinks for some years, did OK. Now I think I see how this amped-up weight gain actually has its only corollary in the start of drinking sodas again, diet or NNS. But I read one website that said it's in the bubbly itself.
posted by noelpratt2nd at 2:26 PM on May 8, 2021

Giving up daily soda drinking is the single largest beneficial change to my diet I've ever made. I probably drink about 1 every month or 2 now -- only as a treat, and usually when I'm out and about. We don't keep them around the house. I think they're best slotted in the "dessert" category.

I've heard about the research, mentioned above, that says that even the diet sodas seem to have bad effects.

On the other hand, I drink lightly flavored seltzer water semi-regularly and I don't perceive any ill effects at all (except that if I'm have an episode of reflux, I skip them for a few days, because I know they will exacerbate it).
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 3:00 PM on May 8, 2021

Best answer: Here's one (small) study that shows an increase in ghrelin (the hunger hormone) in men after consuming carbonated water. It's not super clear if they're testing with sparkling water beverages. HN discussion here.
posted by kaefer at 3:10 PM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I don’t have a link, but I remember hearing a radio story about research (probably about 5 ago) finding that no-calorie sweeteners can change how the body processes sugar. The main idea was that tasting sweetness primes the body for sugar, but when sweetness is habitually not paired with actual sugar, the link gets muddled. Then when sugar is consumed, the body is caught off guard.
posted by Comet Bug at 3:11 PM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Totally anecdotal, but I can say that I have lost weight while drinking lots of flavored sparkling water. So, at least for me, carbonation isn't a killer.

I'm a fan of Spindrift fizzy water, which taste great and are ~16 calories/can. Sure, that's more than zero sugar, but it's a tiny fraction of a normal soda, and doesn't taste like chemicals-in-a-can like the artificially-flavored ones, or make me feel weird like the diet artificially-sweetened ones do.
posted by Metasyntactic at 8:27 PM on May 8, 2021

I too have heard the thing about the sweet taste somehow tricking your body wrt production of insulin, despite there being no actual sugar consumed. I think I read it in the smaller book by the Zone Diet guy (Barry Sears), and he referenced studies. That was awhile ago though.
posted by bluesky78987 at 9:14 AM on May 9, 2021

Response by poster: I don't think carbonated water has made me eat more, I'm just putting on weight since drinking it in NNS sodas. That's why I figure metabolism. Hmm... Thanks for all input.
posted by noelpratt2nd at 10:59 AM on May 9, 2021

> no-calorie sweeteners can change how the body processes sugar

My recollection (perhaps faulty) is that normally--in the absence of artificial sweeteners--your system learns the association between "here is a bunch of sweet tasting stuff" and "here is a bunch of calories". (Keep in mind that "taste buds" are located in both the mouth and all through your intestines. So the "taste" of the food down in your gut plays a big part in how your GI system reacts to what it is digesting.)

Among other things, this affects your satiety system. So you eat a fairly small amount of really, really sweet stuff and you start to feel pretty full.

Then you start eating/drinking a bunch of artificial sweeteners. Now your GI system and satiety signalling system learns that "eating a bunch of really sweet stuff" equates to "no particular calories coming through at all". So in other words eating a bunch of sweet stuff doesn't trigger your satiety system at all--because your body has learned that there are no calories attached to this particular taste sensation.

So if you could somehow eat only artificially sweet things this might be OK. But of course you can't.

The specific problem happens when you eat sweet things that are NOT artificially sweetened. These things now signal your body and satiety system to thing "aha, no calories coming through here" . And so you overeat them without even realizing.

Now having said all that, I thought about things to search for and here is some research:

* Why artificial sweeteners can increase appetite

Studies in both animals and humans have suggested that consuming artificial sweeteners can make you feel hungry and actually eat more. A comprehensive new study co-led by the University of Sydney has revealed for the first time why this response occurs.

* The Impact of Artificial Sweeteners on Body Weight Control and Glucose Homeostasis

The majority of clinical studies performed thus far report no significant effects or beneficial effects of artificial sweeteners on body weight and glycemic control, but it should be emphasized that the study duration of most studies was limited.

That last article is more of a comprehensive review and talks about the (varying) effects of different classes of artificial sweeteners and discusses all sorts of different effects from satiety to gut microbiota to insulin resistance.
posted by flug at 12:11 PM on May 9, 2021

Response by poster: I can tell what amount of food I'm putting away. So "without realizing it" seems to hit nowhere with me. That's why I ask about metabolism. And, is stevia an artificial sweetener?
posted by noelpratt2nd at 12:27 PM on May 9, 2021 [1 favorite]

>And, is stevia an artificial sweetener?

Plant based, but I'm guessing it is going to stimulate the tastebuds in your GI tract just like artificial sweeteners or sugars do.
posted by sebastienbailard at 5:28 PM on May 9, 2021

"Non-nutritive" sweetener might be a more useful category/term than artificial here. Monkfruit & Stevia aren't artificial, but they are perceived as sweet without the caloric or sugar content that your body expects to come with that amount of sweet taste.
posted by needs more cowbell at 5:56 PM on May 9, 2021

Best answer: Science-based medicine blog last updated on artificial sweeteners a few years ago. Summarized as "still a safe and effective option for weight management".
posted by gaspode at 6:26 AM on May 10, 2021

Flug has pointed out some research suggesting a relationship between consuming artificial sweeteners and weight gain. If you're positive that you are not eating more food, though, and you've started to gain weight, the other possibility is that you're moving less. Has anything else changed in your life around the time you started to gain weight? I've put on weight during the pandemic because working from home means that I have a lot less non-exercise activity, and I didn't adjust my food intake to compensate. (I work at a university, and in normal times I either cycle to work or drive and then walk from the parking lot, I walk from my office to my classrooms or the library, I teach standing up and move around a lot, etc.—working from home I lose much of that activity and I haven't been exercising more to compensate.)
posted by brianogilvie at 1:51 PM on May 10, 2021