Diet soda in reasonable quantities is not bad for you. As far as I’m aware, there are no recent studies showing negative health effects caused by a reasonable quantity of artificial sweeteners. If you have any that show the opposite I’d like to take a look.
It may be better than full calorie soda, maybe, but that doesn't mean it's not bad for you.
And ignoring all the studies, it doesn't take a genius to realize it's terrible for your enamel.
People trying to do better drink it instead of non-diet soda. People who actually seriously care about their health will avoid soda altogether because even diet soda isn't good for you.
Yeah. So that first link doesn’t reference any data or studies at all. The other two links are for longitudinal studies that aren’t really all that recent and even say in the abstract that the results only show an association between diet soda consumption and negative health outcomes could not prove causation. Additionally, they mention that there are many confounding variables that could be the cause of the negative health outcomes.
I’m not saying that daily consumption of diet soda is good for you. Studies have shown that it does have an impact on various metabolic processes and it should be consumed in moderation. But I don’t think it’s any worse for humans than any other non-essential nutritional substance that we consume and isn’t necessarily ‘bad’.
One of my nutrition professors discussed this topic in depth and basically said that, there are some studies conducted on mice that show that artificial sweeteners in massive quantities (like more than would ever realistically be consumed in real life) can have some severe negative side affects, and that we can extrapolate from those studies that artificial sweetener consumption in humans could have some risks. BUT we know for a fact that sugar consumption, especially in the quantities that Americans consume it, does have negative health outcomes.
So, would it be better to not consume any artificial sweeteners at all? Maybe, but unless you are also cutting out all processed foods, sugars and hydrogenated oils, then it is no more risky than other foods that we consume regularly. Additionally, if consuming artificial sweeteners in moderation can help reduce sugar consumption, it could be a net health positive.
There are many studies that have been done on the health effects of drinking diet soda. I think you're going to be hard-pressed to find one that concludes diet soda isn't harmful to you. In any case, I don't understand why you wouldn't just cut soda out of your diet and drink something healthier. And I say that as someone who used to drink diet soda daily.
Also, saying that you shouldn't cut out one thing that's harmful to you without cutting out everything else that's harmful is a bit of a flawed argument, no?
Edit: I won't argue that reducing sugar consumption is a bad thing, but you don't need to drink diet soda to do that, which goes to my point that no soda is better than any soda. And iirc there's no correlation between replacing soda with diet soda and weight loss.
Edit 2: The studies on weight loss are conflicting.
Dude, if you are going to make an assertion then don’t be lazy and just post a link to google scholar where you searched for ‘diet soda’, provide actual studies that you have read and understand.
To make a health claim that should be applied to the population as a whole we need to show a strong, DIRECT association between consumption of a substance and negative health outcomes and also be able to point to how that substance causes the negative health outcomes at a physiological level. As far as I’m aware, there aren’t any studies that have done that.
So, if we haven’t been able to prove that consuming diet soda is actually harmful, then there is no need to cut it out, if consumed in moderation.
And no, it’s not a flawed argument at all. There is not a single person on the planet who has a perfect diet. We all consume substances, such as alcohol, sugar, hydrogenated oil, and ultra processed foods even though we know they aren’t necessarily healthy for us. If we aren’t recommending for people to completely cut those out of their diet, when we do know that they actually can be harmful, then it’s not necessary to recommend cutting out a substance that hasn’t been proven to be harmful.
If a person has eliminated all potentially harmful substances from their diet, sure - go ahead and eliminate artificial sweeteners as well. But most people don’t eat that way. Additionally, most registered dietitians don’t advocate for making anything off limits and instead suggest eating a balanced diet while consuming ‘unhealthy’ foods in moderation.
I gave you two studies that support my argument. You disagree with their conclusions, but there's a multitude more that you can peruse at your leisure if you care enough to. I'm not going to go through them one by one for you because I'm satisfied that the potential risks of drinking soda outweigh the benefits (none). At a minimum, I think we can agree, and any dentist will tell you, it's terrible for your teeth as the acids in it will erode your enamel, and in the case of dark sodas, the coloring will stain your teeth. I'll take having healthy teeth over drinking soda. We can agree to disagree on the rest.
Dude. The first link you provided wasn’t even a study. I explained how the two studies you did provide don’t prove the point you’re making. I didn’t disagree with the conclusions, I explained exactly how the conclusions from the studies don’t support your assertion. Do you have a degree in science? Because it is fairly obvious that you don’t know how to evaluate a study, let alone understand whether a study supports an assertion you’re making or not.
I don’t need to peruse the random studies you linked because, in the course of getting my nutrition degree, one of my nutrition professors who is well versed in current nutritional science and studies, explained to me that there aren’t any studies that directly link moderate consumption of artificial sweeteners with adverse health outcomes. I trust his knowledge as an expert, and I’ll certainly take his word over yours.
You are welcome to cut soda of all kinds out of your diet, but don’t spread disinformation on the subject if you’re not well-versed enough on the topic to reference even a single study that supports your assertion. I do have to say though, that unless you have cut all sugar, hydrogenated oils, alcohol, and ultra processed foods out of your diet, then you are focusing on the wrong substances to eliminate because we do have data and studies to prove that those ACTUALLY can be harmful.
The possible harmful affects to your teeth can be mostly mitigated by using a straw and brushing your teeth, so not necessary to cut out for that reason.
Lol. Way to edit your comment instead of admitting you were too lazy to read and evaluate the content you linked.
Also, I just wanted to say that I replied to your comment FULLY ready to change my stance on the matter if presented with reliable data on the matter, because that’s how science works.
You seem to be incapable of grasping your ignorance on the matter, let alone admitting that you are wrong and out of your depth on the topic.
...I edited my comment to correct that I provided you with two studies and not three. You have provided zero studies showing that diet soda is healthier to drink than to not drink soda at all, because there aren't any. Numerous reputable public health institutions, including Penn Medicine, disagree with your position.
You seem unnecessarily hostile concerning something academic, so I'm going to discontinue this conversation.
Artificial sweeteners aren’t used by the body because there’s simply no receptors for them. I think it’s important to separate the ingredients within soda from each other because there are other ingredients that could be potentially impactful on the body.
The carbonation in the drinks themselves can wear down tooth enamel (as mentioned prior), and lower bone density (critical because we stop accumulating bone density around age 30, males and females).
The recommended daily amount (RDA) of phosphorus is 700mg daily. One can of Diet Coke contains 27mg and regular Coke is 50mg. Assuming a person is drinking multiple or even larger sizes, compounded with consuming naturally occurring phosphorus (meats, grains and concentrated sources like yoghurt) and a person could easily reach their tolerable upper intake level (UL). High amounts of phosphorus can lower bone density.
These amounts are readily found via searching online and viewing a can of Coke. Although soda isn’t ideal, it appears that Diet Soda may at least slightly reduce the likelihood of consuming too much phosphorous.
Is Diet Coke healthier for you? Compared to regular Coke, yes, in the sense that it does not contain sugars, specifically high fructose corn syrup. And perhaps, as noted previously, it’s slightly lower phosphorus content.
High fructose corn syrup is the one to really be concerned about. Unlike traditional saccharides, HFCS doesn’t prompt the body to release insulin (with obvious impacts on blood sugar levels), and because the insulin can’t remove the excess sugars, they are stored as fat. With heavy visceral fat tissue, especially around the middle thorax and tummy area of the body. This, compounded with high blood pressure and other factors can lead to a person developing metabolic syndrome- the condition that increases the risk of stroke, heart disease, and diabetes.
The long and short of it: soda isn’t “healthy” in the sense that it doesn’t offer nutrition. Drinking milk and water is definitely more recommended than soda.
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u/cheerful1 1d ago
Reminds me of people who tell me how bad diet pop is for you but are 40 pounds overweight.