OK, I am not going to rant. But I need to get this out of my system: I think diet soda is awful. I think all soda is awful, actually (yes, I know there are no “bad” foods, but I hold soda in approximately the same regard as those puffy orange Circus Peanuts — these are not really “foods,” per se). Diet soda, in my view, is especially insidious.
Here are my top 10 reasons:
1. There is absolutely no proof that diet soda helps people lose weight. The calorie-reduction argument is total bunk, and zero studies have shown a positive correlation between drinking diet soda and weight loss. On the contrary, there’s significant evidence that diet sodas and other noncaloric, artificially sweetened drinks actually lead — quite powerfully — to weight gain. (See “6 ‘Healthy’ Food Choices to Rethink” for more on that.)
2. Diet sodas are billed as being good for type 2 diabetics and other blood-sugar- challenged types, but they aren’t. Because of something called the “cephalic phase response,” your body tastes the sweetness, and even though there are no calories to shuttle, the brain triggers a release of insulin from the pancreas and also a “Sugar is coming! Stop-burning fat” response from the liver. The result is the usual array of insulin-related problems (increased urge to eat, increased tendency toward fat storage, pro-inflammatory biochemical cascade), plus an arrest of healthy protein-and-starch production, and a confusion of the body’s built-in caloric monitoring systems, all of which compel you to plump up and eat even more unhealthy stuff later. (For more on this dynamic, read the article, “Poor Substitutes.”)
3. The act of drinking diet soda — and of seeing it in your fridge — sends your psyche a slew of negative, demoralizing, less-than-healthy mental messages (I am afraid of getting fat; I don’t trust my body to crave the right things; I need to be on a diet; I am compelled to drink sweet stuff, even though I know it’s not good for me; I’m being “good” now so I can be “bad” later), all of which tend to drive other unhealthy eating behaviors even as they trigger disempowering feelings of self-denial and self-indulgence. (For more on this dynamic, see my Thoughts From the Editor column, “View to a Fridge.”)
4. Diet soda contains all kinds of icky chemicals that add to your body’s toxic burden, lowering your immunity, contributing to inflammation and reducing your body’s ability to deal effectively with other, less easily avoided toxins like those pervasive in our food, water, body-care products and environment.
5. Diet sodas and the chemically derived artificial sweeteners they contain (especially aspartame) may act as neurotoxins and have been linked to headaches, memory problems, anxiety, brain fog, depression, skin irritations, menstrual problems, fibromyalgia, joint pain and more. (You can read up on the scientific debate about this both in the aforementioned “Poor Substitutes” and in our article “Excitotoxins.”)
6. Artificial sweeteners and artificial colors tend to drive cravings for more sweet and hyper-flavored foods (more diet soda, please!) and reduce your ability to properly taste more subtle flavors or natural foods, perverting your palate and dissuading you from making other healthy changes to your diet because nothing natural tastes the way it ought to.
7. Frequent sipping or gulping of diet soda blunts your thirst, reducing your intake of pure water, which is a much better choice for hydration and helps to clear toxins from your system (vs. further polluting it). Regular imbibing of soda may also interfere with your body’s healthy hunger signals and thus dissuade you from eating healthy snacks that would support good nutrition, metabolism, energy and mental function throughout the day.
8. The acids in diet soda (and regular soda, for that matter) eat away at the enamel on your teeth. They also are acidifying to your entire system, and thus disruptive to your general health, including the good flora in your gut, where about 60 percent of your immune system resides.
9. Diet soda (like regular soda) is generally bottled or canned, and its aficionados tend to drink it by the case, multi-liter twin pack and so on — day in, day out, year after year after year. Habitually imbibing packaged drinks creates all kinds of nonbiodegradeable garbage, and every aspect of soda production (from manufacturing and packaging to transport — and even its recycling) is an unnecessarily wasteful use of fossil fuels. Drinking any soda is also incredibly expensive, an important point for anyone who protests that they can’t afford high-quality food or decent nutritional supplements.
10. Despite all its amalgamated cruddiness, diet sodas somehow get a pass in practically all weight-loss plans, and are actually promoted by many dietitians as “free” foods or “good” treats despite the fact that they are categorically lousy for people. They are aggressively advertised as being “better choices” for health- and weight-conscious people, and as a result, many kids and teenagers make them a habit early in life. Every time I see this pro-diet-soda dynamic in action, it just chaps my hide and makes me dislike the stuff even more.
OK, I wound up ranting a little. Sorry. I know that many people who adore diet soda and have been sold on its wonderfulness may take issue with my demonization of these beverages. To which I say: Let’s agree to disagree. If drinking it makes you happy enough, or is an occasional enough dalliance that none of the above matters, drink away!
And to those who find themselves addicted to diet soda, I can only say take heart: Thousands before you have broken the addiction and found themselves astonished by how much better they feel.
My recommendation: For a week, start each day with a big bottle full of pure water with a slice of cucumber or orange or lemon floating in it. Sip away, avoid the soda aisles and vending machines, and just see if you don’t start feeling better yourself.
QUALITY is ever more important and “junk food”? Is a waste of not only money,but the nutritional value is just NOT there. Even cooking at home–I make sure to not over eat–easy enough. Eating QUALITY takes more effort tho. Seems like I am back to when I was making sure to give my kids all they need PLUS. What mom ever wanted to give their child the “minimum” required. For me–I prefer not to break bone,damage my eyes,nor neuro function. All take GOOD nutritional care–
I can be a source. I have done manay many tials of aspertame and found that every time I have as little as half of a 12 oz. diet soda I get a severe headache. I also am not a fan of Splenda as it causes similar headaches.
I was curious about this back in 2005 and so wanted to experiment on this subject. My best friend and I decided to put it to the test. We both are about the same weight, height, age range,and body composition. We were both mothers, pretty sedentry and we were both gaining weight quickly! We decided (we lived and worked together at this time)to both eat the same thing each day (portions and all wich was the norm anyway since I was the cook) with the only exception being that I would cut all liquid calories that were not beneficial (sugar). She drank juice, regular coke, coffee with sugar, etc. I on the other hand was able to drink all of those drinks but with artificial sweetner instead. The difference was phenomenal. I rapidly shed about 15 lbs in about 8 weeks. She continued her weight gain. We weren’t allowed to “work out” per se because that would have skewed the results. I’m sure it wasn’t a perfect experiment and doesn’t constitute scientific proof, but for me it was proof enough that regularly drinking artificial sweetner was NOT causing me to gain weight.
Re: Diet sodas and osteoporosis: Colas (both diet and regular) are particularly harmful because of all the phosphorus in them. The body uses phosphorus and calcium in a 1-to-1 ratio, so when you take in a lot of phosphorus, calcium is leached from your bones.
If diet soda is so bad for you, why did my nutritionist TELL me to drink it as an alternative to regular soda when I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes? Surely, if it was so terrible doctors and nutritionists would have stopped doing that. I know that water is the best, but I had both my doctor-recommended nutritionist and my WIC nutritionist say that it’s the calories in regular soda that cause weight gain, and not the sugar. I actually maintained my weight during pregnancy from switching to diet drinks and was 20 pounds lighter after giving birth than before getting pregnant. When I switched back to regular soda after I had the baby I gained all the weight plus some back. Has anyone else noticed that it’s become a trend in our society to turn everything into something dangerous? You know, microwaves will kill you… Cell phones give you brain cancer…. The list goes on and on. I’m not saying it isn’t true, but, as far as I can tell, the opinions on this subject are incredibly varied. And it’s just like everything else… If you drink diet soda in moderation, it’s not very likely to do the damage. Too much of anything is bad, right?
I agree with every point in the article. I used to drink 5-7 regular sodas everyday. I switched to diet thinking I would eliminate all the sugar. Then I began drinking water in an effort to be healthier. However, I can only stand so much water. I love iced tea, but then again I have to have some sweetener in it. I think people just crave something sweet now and then. So, now I am back to having a can or two of diet coke in the evening. I figure if this is my only vice in life so be it. I don’t drink alcohol, don’t smoke, and am at a good weight.
What are yours to question it?Heard of Rumsfeld Disease?Tennis coach to world no1 died from drinking that poison.Lets expose McDs while we`re at it;their director in Australia died at 44 from bowel cancer.He was their youngest store manager at 19…do you think he ate the stuff too?If it doesn`t look like food and you don`t know how it was grown don`t eat it.Most people eat to feed an addiction not make good blood.Sodas don`t make good blood,only bad.
One more thought…OSTEOPOROSIS. Some research has linked soda consumption to osteoporosis. Whether it be that soda replaces more nutritious beverages, or the overload of phosphorus–we are seeing more of this medical problem, especially in woman. A soda-a-day keeps the orthopedic surgeons paid.
Jenn 🙂
I just realized I forgot to respond to Annette’s question about the challenge of breaking a habit you’ve had for years. A great question! I’ll address it in a new blog post!
Hi all! Getting back to folks with answers to their questions/comments:
Re: Addiction/dogma/pressure to be perfect … No worries! My intention is to inform and share my own personal/professional view, not to judge anyone else. It’s up to each of us to decide what we want to eat/drink — I just want to share the information that has been most helpful to me, and that I know has proven helpful to others. But the choice is totally up to each individual. Like I wrote in the blog: “If drinking [diet soda] makes you happy enough, or is an occasional enough dalliance that none of the above matters, drink away!”
Re: Sources and references … See the “Exitotoxins” and “Poor Substitutes” articles referenced in my blog above. Or just do a thorough search on both sides of the issue, noting which studies are industry funded or influenced and which are not. Keep in mind, too, that the kind of high-quality, long term studies we’d all like to see just haven’t been done. To date, I’ve found that non-biased academic researchers and health pros tend to be the most reliable sources for information on the topic. I also prefer to tend to err on the side of caution. One thing to remember is that reactions to these sweeteners and other additives are dependent on individual chemistry, toxic load and a lot of other factors. Some folks do fine with diet soda, others seem more predisposed to trouble.
Based on what I’ve seen, I happen to think there’s good reason to steer clear, and not a lot of good reason to take the risk. There’s also something to be said for going off diet soda and seeing if you feel better, as many folks have indicated they did after leaving diet drinks behind. That’s my take, anyway.
Re: My qualifications … I’m a health journalist and well-informed layperson who has been studying and researching this stuff for a long time — and that’s all. I am not a licensed health professional or a scientist. But from what I’ve seen, there are plenty of people who do have those credentials who are saying pretty much what I’m saying. If you’d rather take it from them, a number are quoted in the articles mentioned above. Of course, there are also lots of highly credentialed individuals who totally disagree with a lot of what I’ve said. Which is why it’s up to each of us to make our own informed decisions based on what we feel is the best evidence, logic and gut instinct about what’s best for our bodies and minds.
Enough said. Thanks for all the great comments, everyone! More soon …
Annette, if you need caffeine, can you try tea (black or with milk?) I used to drink a lot of diet soda, but gave it up after seeing what it did to my teeth.
As far as motivation for giving up 6-8 diet drinks a day: go to the mirror and smile. Do your teeth look a little more translucent at the biting edges? That’s permanent loss of enamel. I’ve got that after years of diet soda consumption, and after doing a lot of research and talking to several dentists, I know that there’s no way to reverse it.
But how do you stop something you have been doing for decades? I drink at least 6 to 8 diet cokes a day. If I don’t have any in the frig, I panic. I have extreme depression. I’m sorry but water is a very poor substitute for caffeine, even though I try.
I was very surprised by your claim that aspartame is a neurotoxin, so I did a quick primary literature search and found the following recent (2007) review article:
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/apl/btxc/2007/00000037/00000008/art00002
From the article’s (public) abstract:
“The weight of existing evidence is that aspartame is safe at current levels of consumption as a nonnutritive sweetener.”
“Acute, subacute and chronic toxicity studies with aspartame, and its decomposition products, conducted in mice, rats, hamsters and dogs have consistently found no adverse effect of aspartame with doses up to at least 4000 mg/kg bw/day.”
Can you cite the source(s) for your assertion?
Mary, I don’t think that Pilar is telling you or anybody else that you need to be perfect. I view it as simply a matter of making healthy choices. One can debate on just how bad it is for you, but I don’t think there is any doubt that drinking diet soda is not good for you.
As the debate rages on in this country about health care and whether it in fact needs reforming, I am convinced that if we, as a population simply made healthier choices and exercised regularly, we could avoid much of the debate all together. I understand that many hard working Americans simply do not have the time to exercise, and that to me is an issue that I have with the overall culture of business in this country. We should be taking care of ourselves so that we may enjoy the hard won fruits of our labor.
You make a very valid point about not feeling the need to eat perfectly, however, our nation as a whole as gone in the complete opposite direction. McDonald’s every day…pizza for breakfast…ridiculous portion sizes…You can call them addictions or habits, they are recurring events in our day – and they can be changed. Just like you say drinking a diet soda once a day is a habit, you can also get into the habit of not drinking that diet soda and going for home brewed iced tea or fresh squeezed juice or even a cup of coffee (which has been shown to have many health benefits). I still have the occasional diet or non-diet soda, but I definitely have found that my body has responded quite well to it removal from my daily intake.
I’m sad to see another list of dogmatic orders to the less-than-perfect among us who deign to consume anything that is not “pure”.
If people stopped obsessing so much about eating “perfectly”, they’d probably see greater overall success maintaining or losing weight. It’s funny how terms like “addiction” are thrown around on here without any references/citations. I think you should be using the word “habit” instead.
I drink about one diet soda a day as a treat and I am perfectly aware that it does not “burn fat” or help me lose weight. However, it DOES satisfy cravings for sweets and is somewhat less likely to cause cavities, which is my main reason for drinking it over drinks containing real sugar. Cucumber water is okay but it does not taste better to me. I am not going to go around pretending that I don’t like sweets because I have not “grown out of that” or whatever I’m supposed to do…I’m tired of being told I’m not perfect enough.
To combat the urge for a diet soda, I installed one of those PUR water filters on my kitchen faucet. I am now officially addicted to water! I put it in one of my cool Tupperware glasses that has a lid and complete the ensemble with a flexible straw. I get thirsty just writing about it! Thanks for a great article! My addiction to tap water also helps out the environment. No longer is my recycle bin filled with empty water bottles and soda cans.
What are your credentials to be making these claims?
Great article. I keep telling my diet soda drinking friends that diet sodas are the new cigarettes but they think i’m just a little crazy (and opinionated). Glad to find someone who agrees and cares enough to shout/blog about it.
Aspartame is an insidious little bugger. It finds it’s way into so many things. I find I get headaches, so avoid consuming it, but sometimes get “punked” by an unsuspected source. I’m especially wary of anything marked “lite.”
I’ve noticed that sometimes even non-diet items will combine aspartame with other sweeteners. I suppose that’s yet another reason to avoid processed foods.
Hi Pilar,
Great “Top Ten” reasons NOT to drink Diet Soda. I fall under the category of a soda “lover” and switched years ago from regular soda to diet soda thinking the zero calories would be a big help … It’s not.
Although I really (still) love soda with certain foods or snacks, I am going to remove it from my shopping list (as soon as I finish that Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry I have in the fridge)- LOL … then, NO MORE SODA!
Thanks… Tom
Would it be totally jerky for me to tape this to my sister’s refrigerator? Maybe I’ll print it out and cut the top ten into little wise curlicues that I can tuck in her purse, diaper bag, phone charger coil, easter basket, etc. I apparently have not yet ditched my big sister bossiness yet.
I think most of us ‘sense’ that diet sodas aren’t giving us anything worthwhile. . . they’re ‘net-loss’ nutrition (as my husband would say). But it’s really helpful to have all the info in one place here — thanks Pilar!
And in the end, wouldn’t the spa cucumber water taste better? And be a better precursor to wine, which has so much more to offer us? : )
I am totally with you on this one. Dropping my daily diet soda habit actually given me extra energy for running.
Great point, Heather, thanks. We’ll get the text changed so it specifies Type 2.
I can’t disagree with your article and actually can’t tell you the last time I had a soda so I may very well have given it up for good.
I would like to point out an important clarification on your 2nd item, though. Diet soda may cause the release of insulin in Type 2 diabetics, but for those of us with Type 1, we don’t have that issue since the only insulin we have is what we inject.
Wonderful!! Do Donuts next! They and Diet soda are on my NO NUTRITIONAL VALUE list
which is a good list to keep in your head. I’m going to add the orange circus peanuts too.
Thank you for this great bog!
I used to love diet soda until I realized what it was doing to my body as I read about it in EL.
Given that I only have one body and that this I live, I’ve ditched diet sodas and all aspartame products.
Funny how easily I can live without something I so looked forward to each day.
Thanks for all of the great tips!
Great Article, so many of my friends substitute water for Diet drinks, Many of them are diabetic, I am definetly sharing this one!
Good call on the recommendation for cucumber water. It tastes so much better than soda. If you’re really looking for a sweet treat watermelon in water is refreshing and sweet.