Which is better for you, diet or regular soda? This is an argument that has been debated quite often. Personally, I am not a huge fan of soda so this topic doesn’t really apply to me. However, it does interest me because I have heard both sides of the argument. I wanted to do some research to see which in fact was the better, healthier option.
It is a known fact that both regular and diet soda are bad for your health. However, I was interested in seeing which one was worse. The truth is, they are both unhealthy in different ways. Soda has many different effects on people. It affects teeth, risk of heart attacks and strokes, weight gain, and much more.

One argument used in favor of diet soda is that it doesn’t create cavities because it uses artificial sweeteners instead of natural sugar. Even though it may not have sugar in it, it still contains acid that can, over time, leave the teeth more vulnerable to cavities. Another common misconception is that diet soda won’t make you gain weight because it is calorie-free. However, some research suggests that the artificial sugar makes people more hungry, causing them to eat more and thus gain weight.

James Hill conducted a study to determine which helped lose more weight, water or diet soda. The researchers found that over a 12 week study, people who drank diet soda instead of water lost on average 4.5 pounds more than those who drank water. Although there could have been errors or third variables in this study, it has eased the minds of many diet soda drinkers.

The main question when trying to see if diet soda is better than regular is whether or not sugar substitutes are healthier than sugar. Recent studies show that artificial sweeteners alter human metabolism and has links to diabetes. There could be third variables or other things that are affecting the outcome of this survey. However, there is no certain proof that diet soda is healthier. Therefore, you may want to think twice about going for the diet soda thinking it will be healthier than regular.