There’s
little evidence
that diet soft
drinks actually helppeople lose
weightBBC SCIENCE FOCUS MAGAZINE COLLECTION 39DIETDIET DRINKS
Even if the label on the bottle says sugar-free, research suggests
you shouldn’t be fooled into thinking it’s any better for your
waistline than a standard version. Health commentators argue
there is little evidence that ‘diet drinks’ containing artificial
sweeteners actually help people lose weight and therefore
should not be recommended a s par t of a healthy diet. In f ac t ,
many existing systematic reviews promoting the health benefits
of diet drink s are sponsored by the soft drink s industr y it self and
are therefore unreliable.
According to a review by Imperial College London, these diet
drinks stimulate sweet taste receptors, potentially encouraging us
to eat food a s compensation. Psychologically, we might be more
inclined to treat ourselves to something unhealthy, as we’ve had a
‘good’ low-calorie drink.VERDICT: Stick to water rather than soft drinks
and your body (and wallet) will thank you.GETTY X2, ALAMY
A few years ago we were being
told by nutritionists not to eat
more than a few eggs a week on
the grounds that eggs contain
cholesterol and cholesterol is
bad for you. At the time, it was
widely believed that elevated
cholesterol in our blood is
caused by cholesterol in our
food. In fac t , most of the excess
cholesterol in our blood is
produced by the liver and is a
response to eating too much
saturated fat. A meta-analysis
of 17 studies published in the BMJ
in 2013 concluded that “higher
consumption of eg gs is not
associated with increased risk
of coronary heart disease or
stroke”. Whether scrambled,
boiled or poached, eggs are a
superb source of protein, are
rich in vitamins and minerals
and make a great start to
the day.VERDICT: As long as you’re not
frying them or smothering them
in fat, eggs are an excellent
choice for breakfast. 5EGGS