Doing a number of blood tests, which can be quite expensive, is the usual way to check if you have any vitamin deficiency. Any insufficient amounts of any nutrient will be revealed in this way.
Fortunately, there is a simpler and easier way to discover if you have any vitamin deficiency. And guess what? -- It is completely free!
You should know that your face is able to reveal a lot more than you think. We recommend you to pay close attention and see if you have experienced the following signs that indicate a certain vitamin deficiency.
5 Signs of Nutrient Deficiencies
Pale Complexion
You have a lack of vitamin B12 if your face gets paler day by day. Another symptom of being deficient in this vitamin is having a completely smooth tongue.
That is why you need to check your tongue before making a conclusion. Memory problems and fatigue are also some of the symptoms.
Consume more grass-fed meats, wild-caught fish and organic poultry if you want to improve your condition.
Bad Hair
You might have a vitamin B7 (biotin) deficiency if your hair has seen many bad days being dry, brittle and full of dandruff.
People who take a lot of antibiotics usually experience vitamin B7 deficiency. That happens because antibiotics destroy the intestinal bacteria that synthesize biotin.
Consume more biotin-rich foods like mushrooms, egg yolks and cauliflower if you want to improve your condition.
Puffy Eyes
Some of the symptoms of iodine deficiency are having bloated legs and puffy eyes. Dry skin, weight gain and brittle nails are some of the other signs that indicate an iodine deficiency.
It is time to change your diet if you consume a lot of low-salt foods. If you want to improve your condition, you will have to consume more salty foods.
Even though the main source of iodine for many people is table salt, you should know that you can also use seaweed, sea vegetables and saltwater fish in order to improve your iodine levels.
Pale Lips
Symptoms that indicate a lack of iron are having pale lips and gums. Iron deficiency is more common in women than men. If you start to fill like you want to eat ice, clay or dirt, you should know that your body wants to tell you that you have
a lack of iron.
The consumption of spinach, dried beans, red meat and fish will improve your condition.
Tender or Bleeding Gum
You know that you have a vitamin C deficiency if you have bleeding and acing gums accompanied by teeth which are not in good shape.
Serious health problems, including muscle ache and even scurvy, may occur if you have insufficient amounts of one of the most essential vitamins.
Scurvy is a disease which can result in falling out of teeth if it is not treated on time.
Consume a lot of vitamin C-rich foods like citrus fruits, berries, cantaloupe, mango, kiwi, papaya, red peppers and watermelon if you want to improve your condition.
Dieting Mistake #4: You’re Too Worried About Your Actual Weight
Unfortunately, too many people are concerned more so with their actual weight, rather than changes in body composition or fat loss – which is the goal 99% of the time, right?
The truth is, apart from your initial weigh in, the actual amount you weigh is fairly meaningless if you use advanced workout techniques such as those in the 90 Day Bikini plan.
Of course decreasing your actual weight can be a measure of progress if you weigh 200 or 250lb and have a large amount of excess body fat, but if you just have 10-20lb to lose it can often deceive you into believing that your diet isn’t successful.
For example, muscle is much more dense than fat, meaning it weighs more. If you’re just beginning an exercise plan, there is a distinct possibility you are increasing muscle mass, while decreasing fat mass, all while giving you the perception that your weight isn’t changing much or is even increasing.
As you can see, focusing on the weight would give you the perception that your diet and exercise is doing the opposite of what you hoped. For example, losing 10lb of fat and adding 10lb of muscle would show as no weight loss on the scales, but you would look visually very different.
Additionally for females, hormonal changes and the menstrual cycle fluctuations can lead to water retention at the worst times, giving you the perception of weight gain, when it’s really just water.
Rather than specifically focusing on your scale weight alone, take bi-weekly photos and tape measurements as we teach people in our transformation plans.
Dieting Mistake #5: You’re Consuming The Wrong Foods
While the amount of calories you are consuming is the number one factor determining your diet success, the types of food you are consuming can make or break your attempts.
Simply eating the amount of calories you need won’t cut it if doing so means you feel miserable and hungry all the time.
Additionally, consuming beverages such as fruit juice and peanut butter can significantly thwart your weight loss attempts as they are extremely calorie dense.
Unfortunately, mainstream media has often confused people into thinking that these foods are healthy, but really they are easy ways to accidentally consume far too many calories with little actual benefit. Fruit juice for example, is often touted as healthy but the truth is fruit juices provide all of the sugar, with none of the beneficial fiber.
While consuming fructose from fruit isn’t inherently bad, it can contribute to a large amount of calories, without affecting your appetite, leaving you hungry and dissatisfied, despite a large calorie intake.
As a result, you’re consuming an incomplete protein source with a very high calorie density, in a food source that is very easy to over consume. Foods like this are a recipe for a failed diet.
I suggest ensuring that you are consuming whole, natural and nutrient dense foods such as protein and vegetables while avoiding or limiting intake of highly processed, calorie dense foods that provide little benefit.
Fat has been demonized for years and is also the most calorie dense of the three macronutrients. Unfortunately, this has led many people to believe that it is the reason behind obesity and so it is often avoided altogether.
This results in people opting for low fat, carbohydrate and specially sugar-laden foods, which inadvertently increase the amount of calories that are being consumed.
By consuming low fat foods, it’s very likely that you’re consuming far more processed carbohydrates than your body requires, which can lead excess calorie consumption and, of course, weight gain.
Additionally, studies have shown that increasing your fat intake, while maintaining a caloric deficit can be quite beneficial due to hormonal optimization, reduced hunger and increased calories burned from fat.
Additionally, research indicates that for women, specifically, consuming a diet high in fat may be more beneficial than other types (6, 7, 8). This is why so many females shred body fat quickly on my higher fat, lower carb Metabolic Advantage Diet
I suggest that rather than fearing fat intake, consider increasing the amount of fat you consume, while maintaining a caloric deficit to optimize hormones and continue losing body fat.
There Are Your 6 Common Dieting Mistakes
If you feel like you’re making the right strides to weight loss but aren’t seeing results, there is a good chance there is something diet-related sabotaging your results.
Remember, the key points are always:
– Total daily calorie intake
– Focusing on healthy but also LOW calorie dense foods
– Remove or closely monitor healthy but HIGH calorie dense foods such as nuts, fatty meats, butter, oils etc.
– Focus on body fat loss, photos and measurements and NOT the scale weight alone
– Being consistent over the long term
By using the above tips and tricks, it’s possible that you can rapidly increase fat loss progress and overcome any plateaus.
References
Spiegelman, B. M., & Flier, J. S. (2001). Obesity and the regulation of energy balance. Cell, 104(4), 531-543.
Veldhorst, M., Smeets, A. J. P. G., Soenen, S., Hochstenbach-Waelen, A., Hursel, R., Diepvens, K., … & Westerterp-Plantenga, M. (2008). Protein-induced satiety: effects and mechanisms of different proteins. Physiology & behavior, 94(2), 300-307.
Westerterp, K. R. (2004). Diet induced thermogenesis. Nutrition & metabolism, 1(1), 5.
Cho, S. S., Case, I. L., & Nishi, S. (2009). Fiber and Satiety. Weight Control and Slimming Ingredients in Food Technology, 227.
Lefranc-Millot, C., Macioce, V., Guérin-Deremaux, L., Lee, A. W., & Cho, S. S. (2012). Fiber and Satiety. Dietary Fiber and Health, 83.
Venables, M. C., Achten, J., & Jeukendrup, A. E. (2005). Determinants of fat oxidation during exercise in healthy men and women: a cross-sectional study. Journal of applied physiology, 98(1), 160-167.
Phelain, J. F., Reinke, E., Harris, M. A., & Melby, C. L. (1997). Postexercise energy expenditure and substrate oxidation in young women resulting from exercise bouts of different intensity. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 16(2), 140-146.
Tarnopolsky, M. A., Atkinson, S. A., Phillips, S. M., & MacDougall, J. D. (1995). Carbohydrate loading and metabolism during exercise in men and women. Journal of applied Physiology, 78(4), 1360-1368.
Common Diet Mistakes Wrecking Your Fat Loss Results
Have you spent the last few months diligently watching what you eat, yet you’re not seeing amazing results?
If this describes your weight loss attempt, you’re not alone and I’m here to help by providing 6 common dieting mistakes
Here’s a review of 6 Common Diet Mistakes Wrecking Your Fat Loss Results (and how to fix them!).
Dieting Mistake #1: You’re Not Effectively Reducing Calories Consistently
Without a doubt, the number one way to begin losing weight is to reduce calories.
The reason for this is the idea of energy balance. This theory postulates that in order for you to lose weight, you’ll need to expend more calories than you consume, creating a negative energy balance (1).
If you end up eating more calories than you expend via daily metabolism and exercise, it’s extremely likely that you’ll actually gain weight.
In order to begin having a negative energy balance, you’ll need to first find your maintenance calorie intake, or the amount of calories you can consume to neither lose nor gain weight.
In order to do this, you’ll need to track your food intake for a couple days. If after the couple days of tracking, you haven’t gained or lost weight, you can average the total amount of calories and assume that’s your maintenance.
Afterwards, you can have a strong idea of how much or how little food you’ll need to consume in order to effectively lose weight.
The big problem is a yo-yo calorie intake. So, you may get it right Monday-Friday, or even for a few weeks but, a few days off or a few blowout weekends can mess up your progress.
There are 2 key points you need to action: the first one is you need to accurately monitor and assess calories, the next is you need to stay in a calorie deficit consistently for weeks and months, not a few days…
Dieting Mistake #2: You’re Not Eating Enough Protein
Despite all the benefits of protein being well known these days, many people still fail to reach the optimal amount on a daily basis.
Protein is unique in that it not only helps you maintain and build muscle but it also provides an appetite suppression effect and boosts fat loss even when calories are matched (2).
Interestingly, the way that proteins are structured actually makes them quite difficult to digest. In order for them to actually increase muscle, they need to be broken down into individual amino acids, which can take some time to accomplish.
Additionally, research has indicated that because of this difficulty in breaking them down, consuming large amounts of protein actually directly increases the amount of calories you are expending (3).
Since breaking down protein requires energy, having larger amounts of protein will increase the amount of energy needed.
If you find yourself in the situation of not consuming enough protein, I suggest attempting to add it into each meal and even consider using a supplement such as whey protein in between meals. Aim for 30-40g of protein per meal from sources such as meat, fish, eggs etc.
If you track your daily intake, aim for around 1g of protein per 1 pound bodyweight. For example, 120LB individual would consume 120g or more per day, split into 3-5 meals.
Dieting Mistake #3: You’re Not Eating Enough Vegetables
Do you get your 5 a day in? Truth is you probably don’t on a consistent basis and, if you are trying to shred body fat, you definitely need to eat more.
Vegetables are one of the best foods that you can eat as they are basically ‘free food’. They also offer some unique properties that many other foods do not:
They have a very large volume to calorie ratio
They have a lot of fiber
They are very high in water, further filling you up
Extremely high in antioxidants and micronutrients
Remember, for weight loss fiber is really important because it slows down the digestion of food and can significantly decrease feelings of hunger (4, 5).
Aim for 2-3 portions of vegetables per meal when dieting, as this will reduce hunger and keep you satiated between meals.
Although you may see lots of fad diets and supplements online, there are only a few ways to reduce water retention naturally, backed by science.
Often, especially when attempting to lose weight, water retention can result in the perception that weight loss is not occurring and make you look bloated, hiding your hard work!
Additionally, water retention can cause discomfort and dissatisfaction with how your body looks and feels, along with digestive issues and stomach ache.
In this article, I’ll describe some scientific techniques you can use to help reduce water retention and allow you to look and feel great, along with looking about 4 weeks leaner in just a few days!
Drink More Water To Reduce Water Retention
Interestingly, one of the best things you can do to reduce water retention is to actually drink more water – sounds odd, right?
Well, the human body is amazing and can adapt to just about any situation. Being dehydrated is no different.
When you restrict the amount of water you are consuming, a hormone called antidiuretic hormone is released from the pituitary gland in response to the amount of water available in the body (1).
When hydration levels are low, this hormone is released, reducing the amount of water that is excreted through urine, making it very concentrated with sodium and other waste products. This actually causes bloating!
When you ensure that you are hydrated, this hormone is restricted from being released, in order to excrete more water which is less concentrated, so you therefore retain less water.
In short, the body needs to maintain a balance of water and sodium; when one is higher in the body than the other, more of it needs to be removed from the body to maintain this balance.
Additionally, when hydration levels are low, the body can react by retaining the water you do happen to consume, in an attempt to balance this ratio. By ensuring that you consume enough water throughout the day, you can optimize this balance between sodium and water and reduce water retention.
Eat Less Salt to Reduce Water Retention
Despite the fact that sodium is essential for survival, having too much of it in your diet can create an imbalance, causing water retention.
As mentioned in the last section, having far too much salt in your diet can offset the balance between sodium and water.
When salt levels in the body rise, antidiuretic hormone is released in order to excrete less water yet more sodium. In doing so, the body will retain water in order to fix the imbalance (1).
Unsurprisingly, multiple studies have indicated that when sodium intake is increased, water retention begins to rise which can lead to unsightly bloat and discomfort (2, 3, 4).
In order to avoid water retention as a result of overconsumption of salt, monitor your intake and attempt to avoid heavily processed foods, which may have high amounts of sodium. As sodium and water work together and maintain a healthy balance, if you consume more sodium you should naturally consume more water to maintain an equilibrium.
Use a Natural Diuretic to Reduce Water Retention
Fortunately, when water retention gets too high, you can turn to natural supplements that have been scientifically shown to have diuretic properties.
Dandelion seems to be one of the most promising supplements for acting as a diuretic. In fact, one study indicated that when subjects ingested a supplement containing dandelion, frequency of urination increased significantly in relation to a placebo group (5).
Astragalus is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been used for years due to its natural diuretic properties.
One study showed that supplementing with Astragalus might, in fact, increase frequency of urination. Additionally, another revealed that supplementation of the herb may aid kidney function (6).
Lastly, caffeine and a popular testosterone-boosting supplement called Tribulus may also have diuretic properties to reduce water retention. A study on the supplement revealed that, when taken regularly, subjects increased the volume of water being excreted through urine, indicating a potential flushing effect of excess water aiding the issue of water retention (7).
Based on the evidence, use of these supplements might promote a diuretic effect, allowing you to excrete excess water and reduce water retention naturally.
Try Restricting Carbs to Reduce Water Retention
Did you know that carbohydrates increase the amount of water stored in your body?
When you consume carbohydrates, they are broken down into something called glucose, which is basically sugar in your blood. When blood glucose rises, it has a couple of different potential fates.
Firstly, this glucose can be immediately used for energy. Alternatively, this glucose can be stored in the muscle in a form called glycogen.
Interestingly, when glucose is transported into the muscle and stored as glycogen, this glycogen also brings water with it.
In fact, one study revealed that for every gram of glycogen stored, roughly 3 grams of water were stored in the muscle with it. If you’re consuming a large amount of carbs, that can equate to a large amount of water being stored (8).
It must, however, be noted that storing glycogen in the muscle along with water is not necessarily a bad thing. Having glycogen and water allows for a usable energy source along with proper hydration, but this can often lead to unsightly bloat and discomfort.
If other methods of dropping water retention fail to help, slightly restricting carbohydrates may help reduce the amount of water that your body is hanging on to.
How To Eliminate Water Retention Naturally
Water retention, while sometimes necessary, can often lead to discomfort and hide your hard work in the kitchen and gym!
Luckily there are a few techniques you can use to reduce the amount of water your body is retaining, as discussed above.
When water intake is low and sodium levels are high, antidiuretic hormone is released, which can cause retention of water to help balance out hydration and sodium levels in the body. Ensuring adequate water intake can help avoid the resultant water retention.
And lastly, using natural diuretic supplements such as dandelion or hibiscus and then restricting carbohydrate intake may be the best combination for you to reduce the amount of water your body is retaining.
References
Fressinaud, P., Rohmer, V., Galland, F., Marcais, J., Bigorne, J. C., & Fressinaud, L. (1979, December). Effects of low, normal and high sodium diet on antidiuretic hormone and prolactin (author’s transl). In Annales d’endocrinologie (Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 63-64).
Kojima, S., Inoue, I., Hirata, Y., Saito, F., Yoshida, K., Abe, H., … & Yokouchi, M. (1987). Effects of changes in dietary sodium intake and saline infusion on plasma atrial natriuretic peptide in hypertensive patients. Clinical and Experimental Hypertension. Part A: Theory and Practice, 9(7), 1243-1258.
Luft, F. C., Rankin, L. I., Bloch, R., Willis, L. R., Fineberq, N. S., & Weinberger, M. H. (1983). The effects of rapid saline infusion on sodium excretion, renal function, and blood pressure at different sodium intakes in man. American Journal of Kidney Diseases, 2(4), 464-470.
Sagnella, G. A., Markandu, N. D., Buckley, M. G., Miller, M. A., Singer, D. R., & MacGregor, G. A. (1989). Hormonal responses to gradual changes in dietary sodium intake in humans. American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 256(6), R1171-R1175.
Clare, B. A., Conroy, R. S., & Spelman, K. (2009). The diuretic effect in human subjects of an extract of Taraxacum officinale folium over a single day. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 15(8), 929-934.
Ai, P., Yong, G., Dingkun, G., Qiuyu, Z., Kaiyuan, Z., & Shanyan, L. (2008). Aqueous extract of Astragali Radix induces human natriuresis through enhancement of renal response to atrial natriuretic peptide. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 116(3), 413-421.
Murthy, A. R., Dubey, S. D., & Tripathi, K. (2000). Anti-hypertensive effect of Gokshura (Tribulus terrestris Linn.)-A clinical study. Ancient science of life, 19(3-4), 139.
Fernández-Elías, V. E., Ortega, J. F., Nelson, R. K., & Mora-Rodriguez, R. (2015). Relationship between muscle water and glycogen recovery after prolonged exercise in the heat in humans. European journal of applied physiology, 115(9), 1919-1926.
Weight Training is Superior to Cardio For Physique Transformation – Here’s Why
If you ask any physique or fat loss expert they will likely tell you that weight training is superior to cardio for toning up, dropping body fat or anything physique related.
However, the general public still believes cardio to be the best solution. This is probably because early research showed cardio burns more fat within the workout; however, they did not account for fat loss over the course of a day, week or year.
Further, this does not account for the overall result, with weight training helping you add muscle, tone up, improve strength and look far better overall. If you really want to improve confidence, (or simply look better naked), weight training, or a combo of both, is going to be key.
Since this initial research, new evidence has further supported the use of weight training for fat loss or physique enhancement. This is because it boosts fat burning hormones, increases your metabolism, improves insulin sensitivity (carb tolerance) and other benefits that cardio simply doesn’t provide (1)!
If you are still on the fence or unsure what’s really best, this article will provide a breakdown of the benefits and review cardio vs weight training for fat loss.
Aerobic vs Anaerobic Training & Energy Systems
Before we break down the unique differences and benefits of weight training vs cardio here’s a brief overview of the energy systems required and how our body provides fuel during cardio or weight training.
In short, cardio utilizes the aerobic energy system as it is performed at lower intensities. This energy system allows you to perform it for prolonged periods of time. In contrast, resistance training utilizes the anaerobic energy system which only lasts 2-3 minutes but provides much more energy in the form of ATP.
Some of these distinct differences between aerobic vs anaerobic energy help explain why weight training is superior to cardio. For example, anaerobic training will burn greater amounts of ATP energy, which is generated from the breakdown of food sources or macros (carbs/protein/fat) through different energy pathways (2).
Benefits of Cardio Training vs Weight Training
Firstly, though, I would like to emphasize that weight training and aerobic training both burn calories and have a multitude of benefits; however, your body responds to these two types of training in completely different ways.
The physiological adaptations associated with aerobic training consist of (2):
Increased cardiac output
Reduced heart rate
Increased stroke volume
Increase in type 1 muscle fibers
Increased mitochondrial density
Increased myoglobin activity.
In contrast, the physiological adaptations associated with anaerobic training consist of (2):
While cardio is still useful for burning calories and cardiovascular health, sadly, it will not help add muscle tone or preserve muscle tone while dieting; in fact, it can actually increase muscle loss if you are not careful.
To optimize our body composition, we want to reduce body fat while maintaining, and in many cases even slightly increasing, lean muscle mass or tone. Resistance training is far superior for achieving this.
Additionally, weight training increases your hormone levels, metabolism and EPOC, carbohydrate tolerance and your resting energy expenditure. All of these will help you reach your physique goals more efficiently and most importantly, help you maintain them.
Weight Training Boosts Your Metabolism to Enhance Fat Loss
Remember, to lose fat efficiently you must be in an energy deficit.
There are multiple ways in which you can enter into an energy deficit. For example, you can increase your physical activity levels or, as most people do with a diet, decrease calorie consumption.
Along with this, another effective way is to increase your resting energy expenditure or the amount of calories you burn at rest!
One of the reasons why weight training is so effective for fat loss is because it quickly increases your metabolic rate, helping you burn more calories that day or the day after. Now, if you perform weight training every day, you will have an elevated metabolism forever (or, at least until you stop training) (3)!
Additionally, research has shown that as you increase muscle mass your resting energy expenditure goes up. So you begin to burn more calories at rest, without even adjusting your food intake (4)! Remember, this won’t happen from 1-2 LB of muscle, but, after a couple of years and 10LB + of muscle gained, you will see more of a significant difference!
Although cardio training does help boost your metabolism in the short term, this only lasts for a couple of hours after exercise, not for the whole day or even into the next day like resistance training (5).
Here’s a graph to demonstrate this:
Finally, remember, cardio doesn’t help add muscle and can even cause muscle loss when it’s combined with a low-calorie diet!
The Research on Cardio vs Weight Training
One group of researchers investigated the effects of cardio vs resistance training during a low-calorie diet and the effects on muscle mass and weight loss.
Both groups lost a significant amount of body mass (as mentioned earlier calorie deficit is key for fat loss).
However, the cardio group lost 4kg / 9lb of muscle mass whereas the weight training group did not lose any, indicating that all of the weight lost in the resistance training condition was fat mass. In other words, the weight training group lost 9lb more fat and preserved all their muscle mass!
Finally, these researchers also demonstrated that calorie expenditure was significantly greater in the weight training condition compared to cardio, supporting the points discussed in the chapter above.
So is Cardio the Enemy of Fat Loss?
Cardio has an immense amount of health benefits for the body and can still be effective for fat loss when used correctly (7).
Remember, if your goal is to optimize fat loss then you should focus more on weight training and increasing muscle mass and energy expenditure. This isn’t to say the odd bit of cardio won’t be effective. You could still do 2-3 sessions on top of weight training or do a 10 minute warm up and cool down after your main weight training session.
The main point of this article is to clarify that 5x cardio sessions vs 5x weight training sessions will yield very different results over weeks and months on your physique, metabolism and muscle mass.
Ultimately, you will not look or feel the same if you just perform cardio. It’s also worth noting this site is about advanced and optimal results, not ‘average’ results. Sure, if an individual is 40LB overweight and just starting out, even 3 cardio sessions a week will work wonders.
In summary, cardio isn’t bad – it is just that it should be used strategically and, ultimately, should reflect your own personal goals and ideal physique.
What About HIIT Cardio Training?
If you are familiar with HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training you will know it’s a great form of cardio that actually produces results more like weight training.
Dozens of studies have shown that HIIT provides superior results to cardio, and in less time. In fact, research has shown that HIIT increased fat loss by 930% compared to steady state cardio (8).
The key with HIIT training is it mimics weight training by performing short intervals at high intensities. Therefore, if you’re still looking for that fix of cardio or the heart/health benefits that cardio provides, a combo of HIIT and weight training is perfect.
There you have it – hopefully, you can now see why, for fat loss, weight training is the superior choice to basic cardio. Here are a few points to remember:
Weight training creates more fat loss and increases muscle mass & resting energy expenditure / your metabolic rate.
Normally cardio may decrease muscle mass and resting energy expenditure over the long run, especially when combined with a calorie deficit or insufficient protein intake.
If you want to be lean and toned, or lean and muscular, weight training must be your main priority.
Some cardio on the side is still fine, plus HIIT is a very effective add-on to still reap the heart, lung and health benefits of cardio!
References
1.) Donnelly, J. E., Blair, S. N., Jakicic, J. M., Manore, M. M., Rankin, J. W., & Smith, B. K. (2009). Appropriate Physical Activity Intervention Strategies for Weight Loss and Prevention of Weight Regain for Adults (vol 41, pg 459, 2009). Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 41(7), 1532-1532.
2.) Haff, G. G., & Triplett, N. T. (Eds.). (2015). Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning 4th Edition. Human kinetics.
3.) Peterson, M. D., Sen, A., & Gordon, P. M. (2011). Influence of resistance exercise on lean body mass in aging adults: a meta-analysis. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 43(2), 249.
4.) Hunter, G. R., Wetzstein, C. J., Fields, D. A., Brown, A., & Bamman, M. M. (2000). Resistance training increases total energy expenditure and free-living physical activity in older adults. Journal of Applied Physiology, 89(3), 977-984.
5.) Holloszy, J. O. (1973). Biochemical Adaptations to Exercise; Aerobic Metabolism1. Exercise and sport sciences reviews, 1(1), 45-72.
6.) Wilkinson, S. B., Phillips, S. M., Atherton, P. J., Patel, R., Yarasheski, K. E., Tarnopolsky, M. A., & Rennie, M. J. (2008). Differential effects of resistance and endurance exercise in the fed state on signalling molecule phosphorylation and protein synthesis in human muscle. The journal of physiology, 586(15), 3701-3717.
7.) Warburton, D. E., Nicol, C. W., & Bredin, S. S. (2006). Health benefits of physical activity: the evidence. Canadian medical association journal, 174(6), 801-809.
8.) Tremblay, A., Simoneau, J. A., & Bouchard, C. (1994). Impact of exercise intensity on body fatness and skeletal muscle metabolism. Metabolism, 43(7), 814-818.
Diet Beverages & Artificial Sweeteners – The Scientific Truth (It May Surprise You)
There’s a hot debate whether diet beverages or soda and artificial sweeteners are healthy or dangerous.
It’s no wonder that so many people are confused (including myself) with some authorities recommending their intake over the high sugar versions, while a lot of other gurus state they are extremely unhealthy and a chemical storm that will wreck your health and cause disease.
As always, there isn’t one clear-cut answer and the issue is often debated based on ‘opinions’ or the latest meme that goes viral on FB rather than hard, honest well-designed research studies or controlled science.
In this article, I’ll dive into the honest research regarding diet soda and artificial sweeteners and whether or not they play a role (both positive and negative) in obesity and even health.
I guarantee some of the answers may surprise you. Here’s the bittersweet truth…
Diet Soda & Artificial Sweeteners – Good, Bad or the Devil?
Artificial sweeteners come in many different forms but the most popular typically include aspartame (Equal), sucralose (Splenda) and saccharin (Sweet’N Low).
The use of these sweeteners actually dates all the way back to the 1800s when saccharin was accidentally synthesized (1).
These artificial sweeteners have become a staple in our diets due to the attempt to reduce excess sugar intake and the fact they are far sweeter than actual sugar, while contributing very few or even no calories.
Despite the fact they can reduce sugar intake and lower total calorie intake, aiding in weight loss, many people still see them as unhealthy.
This is partly due to the belief that consuming them induces similar hormonal and brain responses to that of sugar, in addition to potentially being associated with increased risk of disease states such as cancer. But, what does the actual science say?
‘Negative’ Research on Diet Soda & Artificial Sweeteners
Anything is dangerous in the right dose, even water. Yep, that’s right … Here are two examples:
Firstly, a 28 year old woman in the USA died after drinking six liters of water in a 3 hour period for a contest, dying later that day from water intoxication.
In 2005 a study published by the New England Journal of Medicine found that around 16% of marathon runners developed some level of dangerous hyponatremia, or dilution of the blood caused by drinking too much water.
So, before we continue, my question to you is, just because water can kill you in high doses, does that mean that a normal intake, i.e. 2-4 liters per day is also unhealthy?
Clearly the answer is no, it’s basic logic. However, this EXACT principle applies to diet soda and sweeteners (see the example below), although most people (especially the ones who dislike it) tend to ignore this fact.
When it comes to the limited research regarding human subjects and artificial sweeteners, there is some correlative data (i.e. weak data that draws conclusions over years) indicating that consuming artificial sweeteners may increase the risk of developing metabolic syndromes, leading to increased risk of diabetes and obesity (2, 3).
Unfortunately as with any research, the devil is in the details. Along with artificial sweeteners, the study also found associations with typical western diet staples such as meat (which we know is healthy) and fried foods.
To conclude that artificial sweeteners are a reason for obesity based on this study is speculative at best, since there are so many other factors that may be contributing.
In essence, there is in fact research associating artificial sweeteners with an increased risk of obesity, but it’s not a direct relationship. It’s a relationship confounded by many other factors that certainly contribute to obesity and negative health, rather than simply consuming artificial sweeteners.
In the world of research and science, these types of studies are often ignored and not classed as ‘real, controlled research’.
Additionally, there is some negative research regarding artificially sweetened beverages and cancer. Although there is one catch. The studies are done using rats (but again, all the people who hate diet soda or sweeteners tend to ignore this fact).
Of course, the big issue with these studies is that they simply point us in the right direction from a biological standpoint, but not direct cause and effect; more often than not, what happens in a rat does not translate to humans.
Often the effects of substances vary widely when given to humans compared to rats. Artificial sweeteners are one of these cases.
Despite the fact that some research has indicated that artificial sweeteners like aspartame are linked to cancer in mice, the doses which would be required to do so in humans would be astronomical.
For instance, the FDA has set safe daily consumption of substances like aspartame to 50 milligrams per kilogram of body weight (4, 5).
For a 90 kg (200 lb) individual that would be the equivalent of consuming 25 cans of artificially sweetened soda per day and would still be considered within a safe range.
Diet Soda & Artificial Sweeteners Cause Weight Gain – False Science?
At its most fundamental level, it’s impossible for artificial sweeteners to directly contribute to weight gain; it’s basic science and the laws of thermodynamics.
In fact, artificial sweeteners are often used in order to reduce calorie intake and thus help reduce body weight. However, many people still insist that artificial sweeteners induce an insulin response, similar to what happens when you consume sugar in one form or another.
As a result of this insulin spike, it is theorized this leads to a metabolic disorder called insulin resistance, which means that insulin isn’t able to do its job of removing glucose from the blood and storing it in various tissues of the body.
In theory, when this occurs, it can lead to further disease states such as type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Unfortunately for proponents of this incorrect theory, research has determined that artificial sweeteners such as aspartame don’t induce an insulin spike, despite claims.
Even if they did, a small insulin spike would not match that of an insulin spike from regular sugar, soda, ice cream, pizza etc. It’s these foods consumed over years which cause weight gain and insulin resistance, not sweetener or diet soda (6, 7, 8, 9).
Additionally, in a groundbreaking study on evaluating the use of artificial sweeteners versus just water when attempting to lose weight, the researchers revealed that consumption of artificial sweeteners was actually associated with greater weight loss and a greater ability to keep the weight off after the diet (10).
It’s very likely that consuming artificially sweetened beverages such as diet soda may satisfy sweet cravings without providing the additional calories, leading to weight loss.
Does this mean that diet soda is better than water? No, but it doesn’t appear to be worse in sensible moderation (just like water). Because it has no calories, it simply can’t cause weight gain, it’s physically and biologically impossible.
So What’s The Conclusion About Diet Soda & Artificial Sweeteners?
As it turns out, there probably isn’t any issue with consuming artificially sweetened beverages such as diet soda on a regular basis in moderation.
Research that has shown negative effects is fairly weak, most of it being done in rats not humans and even that has many other factors affecting the outcome, making it impossible to blame artificial sweeteners (2).
Furthermore, other research showing associations with artificial sweeteners and cancer is carried out on rats and still very early. Next, these findings are done at crazy doses that equate to say 200 cans of diet soda per day, so they are far from realistic or unbiased (4).
Lastly, research on artificial sweeteners for weight loss actually indicates a beneficial effect overall, such as reduced body weight, rather than the commonly held misbelief that they lead to weight gain. If you know even the basics of fat loss and metabolism you will clearly understand how it’s physically impossible for a zero calorie product to cause weight gain.
Despite outlandish claimsfrom people with unbiased agendas or the ‘clean eating gurus’, artificially sweetened diet sodas are safe for you to consume and even advised if your goal is to reduce calories and body weight.
Take Home Key Points on Diet Soda & Artificial Sweeteners
Firstly, the key point is to understand that there’s not any real, strong research in a controlled setting to show ill health from a sensible dose of artificial sweeteners in humans.
Sadly, like many aspects of nutrition, it’s very easy for people with hidden agendas to twist the research or churn out random ‘facts’ that have no real evidence at all. Of course, any new meme or video always goes viral, but it doesn’t mean it’s true.
Now, am I advising you to consume artificial sweeteners or diet soda? No, but equally, should you not consume it and avoid it, if you do enjoy it? No, absolutely not.
Like everything, it depends on you. If you love it, then go ahead, it probably will help you consume fewer calories, it may reduce cravings and may actually aid in hydration (remember it’s around 98% water).
If you think that diet soda or artificial sweeteners are bad or unhealthy because they’re not natural, then you should maybe spend some time reading the science to become less biased. Of course, I will be the first to say we should focus on natural whole foods 80% of the time, but drinking the odd diet soda or using a normal intake of artificial sweeteners is also perfectly fine.
In summary, diet soda or artificial sweeteners are perfectly ok in a moderate dose, just like water. If you still want to say it’s unhealthy because rats got ill from taking in the equivalent of 200 servings per day, well you should probably not drink water either because 200 servings of water would have killed the rats far quicker than the artificial sweetener.
As with everything, remember to actually check the research and don’t trust the internet fitness/health gurus who don’t understand or even know how to read a research study…
References
The Pursuit of Sweet. (2017, March 06). Retrieved June 14, 2017, from https://www.chemheritage.org/distillations/magazine/the-pursuit-of-sweet
Lutsey, P. L., Steffen, L. M., & Stevens, J. (2008). Dietary intake and the development of the metabolic syndrome. Circulation, 117(6), 754-761.
Nettleton, J. A., Lutsey, P. L., Wang, Y., Lima, J. A., Michos, E. D., & Jacobs, D. R. (2009). Diet soda intake and risk of incident metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Diabetes care, 32(4), 688-694.
National Toxicology Program. (2005). NTP report on the toxicology studies of aspartame (CAS No. 22839-47-0) in genetically modified (FVB Tg. AC hemizygous) and B6. 129-Cdkn2atm1Rdp (N2) deficient mice and carcinogenicity studies of aspartame in genetically modified [B6. 129-Trp53tm1Brd (N5) haploinsufficient] mice (feed studies). National Toxicology Program genetically modified model report, (1), 1.
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. (n.d.). Food Additives & Ingredients – Additional Information about High-Intensity Sweeteners Permitted for use in Food in the United States. Retrieved June 14, 2017, from https://www.fda.gov/food/ingredientspackaginglabeling/foodadditivesingredients/ucm397725.htm
Møller, S. E. (1991). Effect of Aspartame and Protein, Administered in Phenylalanine‐Equivalent Doses, on Plasma Neutral Amino Acids, Aspartate, Insulin and Glucose in Man. Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology, 68(5), 408-412.
Wolf-Novak, L. C., Stagink, L. D., Brummel, M. C., Persoon, T. J., Filer, L. J., Bell, E. F., … & Krause, W. L. (1990). Aspartame ingestion with and without carbohydrate in phenylketonuric and normal subjects: effect on plasma concentrations of amino acids, glucose, and insulin. Metabolism, 39(4), 391-396.
Horwitz, D. L., McLane, M., & Kobe, P. (1988). Response to single dose of aspartame or saccharin by NIDDM patients. Diabetes care, 11(3), 230-234.
Teff, K. L., Devine, J., & Engelman, K. (1995). Sweet taste: effect on cephalic phase insulin release in men. Physiology & Behavior, 57(6), 1089-1095.
Peters, J. C., Beck, J., Cardel, M., Wyatt, H. R., Foster, G. D., Pan, Z., … Hill, J. O. (2016). The effects of water and non-nutritive sweetened beverages on weight loss and weight maintenance: A randomized clinical trial. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 24(2), 297–304. http://doi.org/10.1002/oby.21327
Although you may see lots of fad diets and supplements online, there are only a few ways to reduce water retention naturally, backed by science.
