(NaturalNews) Contrary to popular belief, diet soda and other foods and beverages made with artificial sweeteners like aspartame are not healthy, and they do not bring about weight loss.
A landmark new study out of Texas confirms this, having found that not only do diet sodas not help with weight loss, but they actually cause both weight gain and health problems.  Those that consumed two or more diet sodas a day experienced waist size increases that were a shocking six times greater than those who did not drink diet soda.
Presented at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the findings debunk the false notion that drinking diet beverages is beneficial for weight loss. Since consuming them actually leads to a 70 percent increase in waist size compared to those who do not drink them, it is clear that using the name “diet” is, in and of itself, misleading.
US Food and Drug Administration adverse event reports going back several decades indicate that artificial sweeteners like aspartame are also responsible for destroying brain neurons, which in turn leads to a host of chronic illnesses.  These include, but are not limited to, chronic headaches, seizures, strokes, vascular disorders, heart disease, premature birth, dementia and other brain disorders, and cancer.
So rather than consume artificially-sweetened beverages and foods with the hope that they will somehow induce weight gain and promote health — two notions that have proven once again to be false — the best way to begin to lose weight is to consume less processed, refined sugars and simple carbohydrates in the first place.