In an effort to better support the body, many people with diabetes opt for sugar-free food options in hopes of managing their glucose levels more easily. This, however, is actually not a healthy choice, after all.

Diet sodas are especially detrimental to your health. Reaching for a diet soda not only doesn’t stabilize glucose levels, but it also does a lot of damage to the body.

Here are five ways that diet soda is really bad for you:

1. Diet Soda May Lead to Metabolic Syndrome (& Diabetes)

A study published in Diabetes Care reported that people who drink diet soda are 36 percent more likely to develop metabolic syndrome than those who do not. Diet soda drinkers are 67 percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes compared to those who do not drink diet sodas.

That’s not all, though. The artificial sweetener in diet sodas tricks the brain into thinking that your body has actually consumed sugar. The problem? Your body becomes more intolerant to glucose and is more prone to metabolic disease.

Yup, it increases your likelihood of developing diabetes, not avoiding it.

2. Diet Soda May Cause Weight Gain

A study out of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society reported that diet soda may lead to weight gain. In the referenced study, 749 participants were monitored over the course of nine and a half years. The researchers examined diet soda consumption and corresponding weight changes

They found that as the participants drank more diet soda, their waistlines increased proportionally. This shocked people all over the world as it was officially announced that diet soda may increase belly fat rather than decrease it like most people previously assumed.

3. Soda is Linked to Depression

Drinking soda, both regular and diet, is linked to an increased risk of depression. Worried about not getting your caffeine fix? Don’t! Opt for coffee instead. Drinking coffee in its place reduces your risk of depression instead of raising it.

4. Diet Soda Increases Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

People who drink diet soda every day are more likely to experience a stroke or a heart attack. Diet soda drinkers also have an increased risk of dying from

cardiovascular disease. Since diabetes is already damaging to the heart, protect yourself against further damage by avoiding diet sodas.

5. Diet Soda Leaves the Brain Vulnerable to Brain Damage

The artificial sweetener in most diet sodas, aspartame, removes the brain’s natural defense system. It does this by interfering with antioxidants in the brain, which ordinarily protect the brain from damages. Diabetes causes a lot of damage to the brain naturally, resulting in reduced cognitive functioning. If you drink diet soda then you will only speed this process up.