What is the draw with diet sodas? Is it the taste, the abnormally large amounts of chemicals or the cool colored cans? Most people want a diversion from water without the consequences of the calories. Two studies conducted, one with humans and one with animals, have shown a high correlation between diet sodas and cancer but “in most cases neither type of study provides definitive evidence on its own.” People wonder what it’s going to take to get people over the diet drink band-wagon.

In a recent study conducted called “Of Mice and Men’s Guts,” scientists set up an experiment using mice as the subjects. The control group only drink water while the experimental group had drinks with FDA-approved artificial sweeteners. The results showed that “within 11 weeks, the mice drinking sweetened water had developed glucose intolerance, most notably when saccharin was added to their diet.” In other words, the study says that artificial sweeteners might actually raise blood sugar levels.

This was one of the first studies that began to uncover this information so the scientists have to proceed with caution. Out of these results they can take away that they need to reassess the dangers of artificial sweeteners. These answers might help explain why people who are over-weight tend to drink diet sodas frequently and do not lose weight. However these preliminary results prose serious issues for diabetics if this is true.

Scientists need to continue examining this not only on animals but also humans. These mice results show that there might be correlation but there needs to be more studies, specifically with humans, to show the causation.

For years now they have been trying to find something wrong with diet sodas and I wonder if the surface of the problems will finally be exposed. But even if they are exposed, will the diet soda industry take as big of a hit as the cigarette industry did when the awakening research was finally published? Even if there is a high correlation there will still need to be more concrete evidence that shows the effects at different levels of consumption. Although it might take some time for all of my questions to be understood, this article helped open up my eyes to other possible detrimental effects artificial sweeteners have on our bodies.