You would think in the age we live in with so much information available to everyone at the click of a mouse that the question about if soda causes diabetes would have gone away long ago. The simple fact is that no research to date shows evidence that soda causes diabetes. The American Diabetes Association and many others have tried to get the information out for years. But the conception that sugar, candy, or soda causes diabetes persists. It may be the indirect relationship that causes the confusion.
What is the Relationship?
While there is no evidence that sugary foods and soda causes diabetes, these foods do tend to cause excess weight to be gained. Rather than the specific food or drink being consumed, it is more a lifestyle that is increasing the risk. Studies do show that people who include soda, or even diet soda, as a regular component of their diet also gain significantly more weight over time than people who do not regularly drink sodas. In fact, the average difference in weight gain is 10 pounds over four years. And obesity is a known risk factor for diabetes type 2. So it’s not that soda causes diabetes, it’s that the associated lifestyle is one that creates risk factors for diabetes. The same people that consume soda regularly also tend to live an unhealthy lifestyle in general. They smoke more, and tend to be less physically active than others.
Also, some people think that soda causes diabetes because of the repeated warnings to diabetics to avoid things like soda and other sugary drinks.
So is Drinking Soda OK?
If you don’t have diabetes already, there is nothing wrong with drinking soda. Since there is no evidence to support the notion that soda causes diabetes, the thing you need to watch is your weight. If you are drinking sugary drinks and gaining weight, then you should probably consider water as an alternative, and developing an exercise routine. But you need to look at the rest of your diet as well. Many things cause weight gain, from overeating to eating the wrong things, to a sedentary lifestyle.
Soda doesn’t contribute anything to your overall health and is just basically 100 – 150 extra calories you are consuming that add no nutritional value. And soda doesn’t make you feel full, so you will likely eat something else anyway. In other words, soda is not a food substitute – it’s just adding calories you don’t need.
It is estimated that soda and other sugary drinks make up over 7 percent of the total calorie intake of the average American diet. This is the largest single calorie source in the diet in the United States. As a nation, the typical United States diet contains sugar as 20 percent of total calorie intake. Nothing indicates that soda causes diabetes, but you should ask yourself if you really need it.
