Is Diet Soda Healthier than Regular Soda?
If you’re reading this post you are most likely fully aware that regular soda is not good for us but is diet soda any better?
As a registered dietitian, many patients will ask me “is diet soda healthier than regular soda?” Most want to know if they should be cutting back on their Diet Coke addiction.
The truth is, like many areas of nutrition, the answer isn’t as simple as a yes or no. Understanding the potential benefits and risks of diet soda requires digging deeper into the science, exploring the role it plays in our diets, and considering how it compares to regular soda. Let’s break down the research and look at the pros and cons, to help you make informed choices about what’s best for you and your health regarding diet soda.
Regular Soda VS. Diet Soda
Regular Soda:
When we think about regular soda, one of the first things that comes to mind is sugar, right? A typical 12-ounce can holds about 39 grams of sugar—that’s almost 10 teaspoons! Can you imagine putting 10 teaspoons of sugar into a small 12 oz can?! That’s quite a bit of sugar. Regular sodas are considered beverages with poor nutrient-to-energy ratio, meaning they tend to be high in energy (calories) and added sugars, but very low in important nutrients.
So how does this affect our health?? Here are some health consequences of drinking a typical high-sugar soda:
- Weight Gain: One major concern with this much sugar is weight gain and obesity. Liquid calories from soda do not promote satiety, often leading to overeating. The high-calorie content from sugar can contribute to obesity.
- Diabetes Risk: Regular consumption may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. Research shows that drinking just one can daily can raise diabetes risk by 1.1%.
- Over time, high sugar intake can also contribute to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, heart disease, and tooth decay, as the combination of sugar and acids in soda erodes tooth enamel and feeds harmful bacteria.
Diet Soda:
Now that I officially scared you away from regular soda, let’s see if diet soda is any better…
Diet soda swaps out table sugar for artificial sweeteners. One of the most popular sweeteners you’ll find in diet soda is aspartame, especially in Diet Coke, which is one of the most popular diet sodas worldwide, cause duh!
While aspartame has the same number of calories as regular sugar, it is about 200 times sweeter. This means just a tiny bit is needed, which helps keep the calorie count low and has a much smaller impact on blood sugar levels.
For a quick comparison, a 12-ounce can of regular Coke has those 39 grams of added sugar, but a can of Diet Coke has zero calories and no added sugar at all. Sounds like a pretty legit swap right?
Health Risks of Drinking Diet Soda:
While choosing diet soda instead of regular soda might help with some aspects of blood sugar control, overdoing it on diet soda could come with some health downsides in the long run. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Metabolic Syndrome: Some studies suggest that drinking diet soda might increase the risk of metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a group of health problems that happen together and increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.
- Cardiovascular Issues: Drinking just one diet soda per day may increase the risk of cardiovascular problems, including AFib and high blood pressure.
- Insulin Confusion: Artificial sweeteners might confuse your body’s insulin response and could affect your blood sugar levels.
- Cancer risks: the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified aspartame as a Group 2B carcinogen, meaning it’s considered possibly carcinogenic to humans. A 2022 study with 102,865 participants found that people who consumed large amounts of artificial sweeteners, especially aspartame and acesulfame-K (ace-K), had a 13% greater risk of developing cancer, specifically breast and obesity-related cancers.
Sweetness perception: Research suggests that your brain reacts to artificial sweeteners similarly to sugary sweets. Ingesting them frequently may increase your desire for high-calorie foods, putting you at a greater risk of weight gain. Another study found that people with overweight or obesity who switched to diet soda were likely to consume more calories in food than people with overweight or obesity who drank regular soda.
Swapping Soda for Healthier Alternatives
If you are open and ready to swap out our beloved diet sodas, you are in luck because there are now so many alternative on the market to choose from. Here is a list of some of my favorite alternatives!
- Bai drinks– if you crave caffeine and some flavor, you will love these. They come in all different flavors like strawberry lemon and peach tea.
- Poppi: Contains apple cider vinegar and prebiotic fiber, with 25 or fewer calories per can.
- Olipop: Features a proprietary blend of botanicals and prebiotics, high in fiber
- Zevia: Calorie-free and sugar-free, sweetened with stevia leaf extract
- Spindrift: Contains carbonated water with real fruit juice, fewer than 5 calories per can
- Kombucha: Fermented tea drinks offering probiotics and natural carbonation
- Seltzers or sparkling water: There are also many flavored seltzers and sparkling waters on the market that work well as a diet soda alternative. Just make sure to look out for the sodium content!
Bottom Line
As we can see, regular soda is loaded with sugar and empty calories, while diet soda skips the sugar and calories, it brings in artificial sweeteners that come with their own baggage. The good news? You don’t have to stick to either! With so many fun and flavorful alternatives like sparkling water, kombucha, or prebiotic drinks, there’s literally no reason to . Remember, balance is your best friend, and small swaps can make a big difference.
If you’re unsure about the best beverage choices for you, reaching out to a registered dietitian can provide you with personalized advice that suits your unique health journey!
