Water is better than diet soda

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People with type 2 diabetes who are also obese should drink water instead of diet sodas. According to a Canadian study, water leads to greater and longer-lasting weight loss. It can even cause diabetes to disappear.

For type 2 diabetics with obesity, water is a much better drink than zero-calorie soft drinks. This was the finding of a Canadian study recently presented at the annual congress of the American Diabetes Association (ADA). Water led to greater and longer-lasting weight loss and, in many cases, to the disappearance of diabetes.

For years, there has been heated debate about the real effects of calorie-free diet drinks. They promise health benefits over their sugary alternatives. On the other hand, epidemiological studies have shown that regular consumption may lead to more frequent cases of obesity and even type 2 diabetes.

Soda or water

Hamid Farshchi and his co-authors from the University of Vancouver conducted a scientific study in which 81 women who were overweight or obese and had type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to two groups. Initially, everyone followed a diet and exercised. This was intended to result in a weight loss of up to one kilogram per week. This program initially lasted three months. The participants were then observed for a year.

All of them had regularly consumed diet sodas before the start of the study. During the study, about half of the participants replaced these drinks with water, especially during or after their main meal. The entire study lasted 18 months.

Greater weight loss with water

Water as a beverage had a very positive effect: the women in this group lost an average of 6.82 kilograms of body weight, compared to an average of 4.85 kilograms in the group that continued to consume “zero” juices. In addition, 37 of the 41 women (90%) in the water group experienced a disappearance of their type 2 diabetes. In the diet soda group, this was the case for only 18 out of 40 (45 percent).

“The permanent replacement of diet sodas with water after main meals in women with type 2 diabetes can promote further weight loss during an 18-month weight management program. It may also offer benefits in blood sugar control and diabetes remission during a long-term diet plan,” the scientists wrote in the summary of their presentation.