When you’re popular, people talk about you – and Diet Coke happens to be The world’s most popular diet coke. So what’s behind the rumors that Diet Coke causes cancer, weight gain, or is just plain fatal? Like many gossip stories, there is a grain of truth behind some of these concepts, but they don’t come close to telling the complete story.
First, you should know that some of the potential health problems associated with Diet Coke also apply to other diet colas, including Diet Pepsi and lesser-known brands you might find on your local supermarket shelves. The concern also extends to a wider range of “diet” foods, including light yogurt, sugarless gum, and diet drinks that aren’t Coke at all.
Here’s what science actually says about Diet Coke. Spoiler alert: This fizzy drink is unlikely to be fatal, but there are several good reasons to consider cutting back.
Aspartame and cancer relationship
“When many people hear ‘diet,’ they equate it to carbonated water, but that couldn’t be further from the truth,” says Kelsey Mangano, PhD, RDN, a nutritionist and associate professor in the Department of Nutrition. UMass Lowell Biomedical and Nutritional Sciences. “The only thing that’s been removed is the sugar.”
Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi use aspartame instead of sugar, an artificial sweetener that provides sweetness but no calories. Some other diet drinks on the market use different low- or no-calorie sweeteners, such as sucralose, saccharin, or stevia.
this U.S. Food and Drug Administration All are “generally recognized as safe,” but manufacturers are not required to provide significant, peer-reviewed studies to include food additives, according to cardiologist and director Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., Ph.D. this category.of Food is Medicine Institute, Friedman School of Nutritional Science and Policy, Tufts University.
Mozaffarian pointed out that saccharin is a coal tar derivatives Sucralose is a laboratory-created combination of sugar and chlorine. But since Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi are the market leaders, let’s focus on aspartame: It turns out it’s being studied for possible other uses. ulcer medicines When a scientist tastes it and realizes it is sweet. Trivia aside, the main debate right now is whether aspartame causes cancer.
In July 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) included aspartame on the list of ingredients that are “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”Gasoline engine exhaust falls into the same “possibly carcinogenic” category, but aloe vera. How worried you should be depends on how much aspartame you consume.
if only The source of aspartame is Diet Coke, and as far as cancer risk goes, you probably don’t have a problem: An adult weighing about 150 pounds would have to cut back more than 9 to 14 cans per day Entering hazardous territory, according to a joint release by the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
However, you may also get aspartame from other low-calorie foods and drinks. That means your aspartame intake could theoretically reach dangerously high levels, Mangano says. “We need more research to understand how additives like aspartame affect health,” she said.
this The Coca-Cola Company, in case you were wondering, there are currently no plans to change the Diet Coke formula. Interestingly, PepsiCo removed aspartame from Diet Pepsi in 2015 in favor of another artificial sweetener.But consumers Hate the aspartame-free version So much so that a year later the company changed direction.
Other Ingredients to Watch in Diet Soda
While large amounts of aspartame can be risky, Mangano is more concerned about other ingredients in diet soda, namely caffeine and phosphoric acid.
Diet Coke (if you don’t opt for the decaffeinated version) contains about 50 milligrams of caffeine, Mangano says. This is about half the amount found in a cup of coffee. But how many cans have you drank, and how sensitive are you to caffeine?
If you drink several cans of Diet Coke throughout the day, you may be approaching or even exceeding the FDA’s recommended daily intake Maximum 400 mg. (If you’re pregnant, cut that number in half.) People who suffer from anxiety, insomnia, or high blood pressure may benefit from significantly lowering their personal intake or avoiding caffeine altogether, Mangano adds.
Phosphoric acid is another problematic ingredient, she said. You’ll find it in dark sodas like Coke (low-calorie and regular) and root beer, and it’s harmful to bone tissue. “Research Studies have found that humans with the highest cola intake have the highest rates of osteoporosis,” she said.Phosphoric acid can also damage enamelshe added.
Can drinking diet soda lead to addiction? and weight gain?
If you’ve been told that Diet Coke is “bad” for you, you’ve also probably been told that it’s addictive or causes weight gain. The truth about both remains murky.
As mentioned before, most diet colas contain caffeine. Caffeine is indeed addictive, but whether it is actually addictive has not been proven. American Psychiatric Association Says there is no evidence to support “caffeine use disorder,” but more research is needed.
Mangano points out that diet soda is also very sweet, and that sweetness stimulates the brain’s pleasure centers. “When people taste sweetness, they get a good feeling” and are motivated to seek it out again, she said. “I can imagine how some people would describe it as an ‘addiction.'”
There’s some stronger evidence behind the rumor that diet soda might make you gain weight, but it’s hard to conclude.some studies found Overweight and obese adults drink more diet drinks than ‘normal’ weight people, but other studies have not, Mangano said.Systematic review and meta-analysis published last year JAMA Internet Open It concluded that replacing sugary drinks with low- and no-calorie beverages “is associated with small improvements in body weight and cardiometabolic risk factors.”
Even studies that show obesity and diet soda go hand in hand only show an association, adds registered dietitian Kris Sollid, senior director of nutrition communications. international food information council (international Finance Center). Some people believe that drinking super sweet diet drinks will make you crave and eat more caloric foods, but this has not been proven. It’s also possible, he said, that overweight people are more likely to choose diet soda over caloric drinks because they’re concerned about their weight.
No one has ever proven that diet drinks can help you lose weight. In fact, by May 2023, World Health Organization issues guidelines It is recommended not to use non-sugar sweeteners, including but not limited to aspartame, for weight management. They concluded that available evidence does not prove that use of these sweeteners causes body fat loss, and that long-term use may lead to problems such as increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Is it okay to drink Diet Coke?
One thing that’s clear, Mozaffarian said, is that regular (sweetened) soda contains added sugar. For this reason alone, if you’re someone who drinks a lot of soda—and you’re unwilling to stop—he’d rather you choose the diet variety. “We can’t guarantee you that low-calorie sweeteners are harmless, but if you drink a lot of soda, your diet will be better because regular soda contains a lot of sugar,” he said.
For the occasional soda drinker — maybe you drink one a month or even a week — Mozaffarian says to go with regular Coke or Pepsi instead of taking a chance and opting for an artificial sweetener.
This is somewhat contrary to the advice Mangano offers. Her take: For some people trying to control calories, a can of Diet Coke a week might be fine. She was so concerned about the potential problems with caffeine and phosphoric acid, as well as aspartame, that she thought there might be some health effects if diet foods were consumed daily.
In an ideal world, everyone would give up diet drinks and regular sodas in favor of flavored unsweetened sodas and other beverages that don’t contain any sweeteners. Solid believes that pursuing balance is a better goal.
“The ‘perfect’ diet may not include diet soda. But many health-promoting diets can include it,” she says. “Not everything has to be organic broccoli and whole grains…it’s really about the holistic nature of your diet. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.”
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