In my last post, Diet soda and the brainI have described how artificial sweeteners like sucralose can affect hunger, memoryand good brain signalling. This raised an obvious question: If diet Soda isn’t the safe choice we thought, what about regular soda?
The arguments against sugar-sweetened beverages are even more compelling, and have been for years. The story is more interesting why so many of us are not sure about it. Some of this uncertainty did not arise by accident. It was produced.
What independent science shows
Sugar-sweetened beverages are the largest source of added sugar in the American diet. A a systematic review Based on studies published between 2000 and 2024, these drinks may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes in adults. review found that the pattern is not subtle: The more sugar-sweetened beverages people drink, the greater their risk of diabetes.
This means biological. Sugary drinks provide high amounts of fructose and glucose with no fiber or protein, which usually slows absorption. Over time, this pattern leads to weight gain, insulin resistance, and elevated triglycerides—the same factors that lead to type 2 diabetes.
The pattern is too apt to be coincidental
In 2016, Dr. Dean Schillinger of UCSF led a review of 60 studies published between 2001 and 2016 on sugary drinks, obesity and type 2 diabetes. The pattern was undeniable: 34 studies found a link, and only one of them was funded by industry. All 26 studies that found no link were funded by the beverage industry. “The industry appears to be manipulating modern scientific processes to create controversy and advance its own commercial interests at the expense of public health,” the authors concluded.
This was not an isolated finding. Separately analysis in PLOS Medicine They found that industry-sponsored beverage studies were about five times more likely than independently funded studies to find no link between sugary drinks and weight gain. This constant variation, across years and research groups, does not appear to be random.
Game book
It’s not just what research gets funded, but what messages get promoted. In 2015, internal documents revealed that Coca-Cola funded and helped form the Global Energy Balance Network, a group whose public message emphasized exercise over diet and reducing diet. attention of the role of sugar in weight gain. Coca-Cola reportedly helped select it leadership and texting while internally calling it a “weapon” in the “war” with health care advocates. When this was revealed, the network fell apart.
Boston University to read It found that between 2011 and 2015, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo funded 96 national health organizations while lobbying against at least 28 public health bills aimed at reducing soda consumption. Schillinger said: “We are now in a public health war with diabetes. In every war there is propaganda … we are being played.” The American Beverage Association states that its scientific research mission is to “inform and enlighten the debate through scientific research to the highest standards of integrity.” While industry funding does not automatically invalidate research, it does raise suspicion when the research’s conclusions coincide with those of the industry that paid for it.
The mental health continuum
There’s another piece of this story that doesn’t get talked about enough: diabetes, obesity, and mental health. closely relatedand each can make the others worse. Research shows that people with depression are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, and people with type 2 diabetes are more likely to be depressed. Scientists think this happens because diabetes, obesity and mental illness share some of the same problems within the body, including persistent inflammation and stress hormones which stay high for a long time. The association is even stronger in people with serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia who have type 2 diabetes. two to five times more than the general population, in part because some of the drugs used to treat these diseases cause weight gain and directly affect blood sugar. Sugary drinks make the problem worse. By increasing the risk of obesity and diabetes, they may also increase the risk of mental illness.
Putting it together
A larger image appears that is larger than each individual sweetener. Diet soda can quietly alter hunger signals and brain chemistry, while regular soda can cause obesity, diabetes, and possibly mental illness. Evidence for these links is supported by decades of research. And for a long time, the beverage industry has made a well-funded effort to keep the public in the dark.
This does not mean that every soda drinker will develop diabetes or that every industry-funded study is useless. But it does mean that when evaluating claims about sugar and health, one must ask who funded the research and what they achieved. In the meantime, the surest way to support your physical and mental health is to focus on water, whole foods, and occasional snacks. You don’t have to be strict about it, but you may find that the effort is well worth the payoff.
