Seven Good Reasons Not to Drink Diet Soda

Soda and other sweetened drinks are a major source of calories in the American diet, but if you’re looking for an alternative, try water, not diet soda.

Prevention reported Oct. 19 that while diet soda may have zero calories, it’s far from healthy. With consumption of diet soda rising, here’s seven good reasons to resist the trend:

• Diet soda was associated with a greater risk of kidney decline in a study of 3,000 women.
• Drinkers of diet soda may be at higher risk of metabolic syndrome, a warning sign of  heart disease.
• Obesity rates rise alongside diet-soda consumption. In other words, it doesn’t help you lose or maintain weight.
• Mixed drinks made with diet soda will get you drunk faster, since there’s no sugar to buffer the alcohol.
• Diet sodas contain mold inhibitors that can damage your cells.
• The high acidity levels in diet soda can cause your teeth to rot.
• Like regular soda, diet soda cans are lined with BPA, which can cause reproductive problems.