Over the years it seems that sugar-free or diet soda has grown a reputation for being actually extremely harmful to the body. I used to always drink Diet Coke and people would constantly tell me that the artificial sweetener in the soda was going to give me a cancer or a brain tumor. I was curious about this topic especially after we talked about the affects of sugary soda and weight gain during class. Everyone is critical of the artificial sweetener, or aspartame, used in the soda in place of the sugar. This fear of aspartame started after a research paper in 1996 hypothesized a link between the recent increase in brain tumors and aspartame (which had been approved for use in 1981). It does make sense to question the link but more recent studies seem to have lowered the chances of that link being true.
According to the CNN article, Sugar-Free Soda Is Safe, by Dr. Aaron Carter who researched the more recent findings, he disagreed with the likelihood of the link. He explained that, “using data from the National Cancer Institute showed that the increase in brain tumors really began in 1973” (CNN). As well as, “A randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial showed that aspartame didn’t affect memory, behavior or mood” (ajcn.nutrition.org). Dr. Aaron Carter also included that, “a study published in 2006 followed more than 285,000 men and almost 190,000 women and couldn’t detect any relationship between aspartame and brain or blood cancer” (NCBI). These studies support Dr. Carter’s argument about the unlikeliness of the link between aspartame and brain tumors/cancer.
Besides the causing brain tumors, another common thought is that if one drinks “diet soda” they will lose weight, which leads to some people disgruntled if they drink it but didn’t lose weight. This is because the majority of sugar-free or diet sodas are marketed to draw in consumers that they are making the healthier choice than if they chose regular soda. It may not be proven that the diet soda specifically increases weight loss but Dr. Carter brings up the point that a lot of people tend to overcompensate when they choose diet soda. If they get a diet soda, which has less calories than a regular soda, then they may reward themselves with more food for their “healthy choice.”
Dr. Carter simply states, “The bottom line is that artificially sweetened beverages are safe” (CNN). This does not mean one should now excessively drink a ton of it, but simply the misconceptions that diet soda causes brain tumors seem highly unlikely. It’s still soda, so it’s not a healthy beverage and if given a choice, water would be the more beneficial option.
Sources: http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/15/opinion/carroll-diet-sodas/
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/68/3/531.full.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16985027
I looked into it and the myth that diet soda causes people to gain more weight does not seem likely. This article reviews the couple of studies that were used as examples for diet soda causing weight gain, and points out the lack of scientific evidence in these studies to prove the link
WebMd Article
Even though I focused more on the myth of diet soda causing brain tumors, I did touch on the topic of diet soda and whether it causes weight gain which I think would be an interesting blog post to develop the question further. Especially since there are a lot of blogs and news stories out there claiming this is true.
I only drink Diet soda and although the chemicals may be harmful I think that drinking a normal soda that is loaded with sugar can be just as harmful as the chemicals. I also believe that because diet sodas have no sugar and less calories that they will lead to weight loss. But I don’t think that drinking diet soda will lead to rapid weight loss alone.
I too have always been under the impression that drink with artificial sugar are bad for you because they contained cancer causing chemicals as well. I would just wonder if these studies have any bias or if they were payed for or sponsored by campaniles that make sugar-free sodas. For example there was once a study done by the American beverage association which include soda companies like pepsi and cocoa-cola suggested that diet sodas can help people loose weight which in your blog post doesn’t seem to be true at all. Report of the study can be four here: http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/05/28/3442104/study-diet-soda-industry/
I have been of the belief for a long time that the chemicals in diet soda are very bad for you so it is interesting to see studies showing that may not be the case. I always wondered what the tradeoffs would be of drinking the diet version. For more information on the key differences between diet and normal soft drinks check out this article I looked into. http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/normal-sodas-vs-diet-sodas-1275.html
I researched this topic as well and wrote a similar blog on artificial sweeteners. My findings were almost identical. The rumors behind artificial sweeteners, mostly appertain which is in diet sodas, are mostly negative. People affiliate diet soda drinks with cancer and more cravings. Its important if you drink these products, or tell people the negative affects of them to do your research! These products aren’t as bad as many think they are.