Consuming artificial sweeteners can trick your metabolism into violently storing more fat

A closer look

Your diet soda is playing a highly cruel physiological prank on you. When your tongue tastes extreme sweetness without the accompanying caloric energy, it violently confuses your brain's metabolic reward pathways. Studies suggest this disconnect prompts your body to aggressively crave real sugar later on and alters your gut microbiome, ultimately causing you to store more fat than if you had just drank the actual sugary beverage in the first place.