{"id":152730,"date":"2025-09-13T00:52:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T00:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/152730\/"},"modified":"2025-09-13T00:52:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T00:52:12","slug":"how-much-diet-soda-is-too-much","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/152730\/","title":{"rendered":"How much diet soda is too much?"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Fat Joe and Ben Affleck<\/a> to President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton, a lot of us love diet soda. In fact, research shows Americans guzzle billions of gallons of diet drinks each year<\/a>. Which means we should probably be asking \u201chow much is too much?\u201d<\/p>\n

What are the concerns? <\/p>\n

According to the Mayo Clinic<\/a>, \u201cit\u2019s not known if drinking diet soda every day is harmful,\u201d and \u201cthe evidence on diet soda\u2019s health effects isn\u2019t clear.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, there are concerns related to Diet Coke and other \u201cdiet beverages\u201d due to their lack of nutrients. Their \u201cdiet\u201d nature, or the artificial sugars that give them their taste, also create unique concerns, per some experts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey stimulate sweet taste receptors, priming the body to expect calories,\u201d explained\u00a0Vanessa Rissetto<\/a>, a registered dietitian and CEO and co-founder of Culina Health, as cited by The Huffington Post<\/a>. \u201cOver time, this mismatch can diminish insulin sensitivity, making it harder for the body to regulate blood sugar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Susan Swithers, a professor of psychological sciences at the Purdue University College of Health and Human Sciences quoted on the subject by CNN in 2018<\/a>, described the affect of aspartame, a popular artificial sweetener, as \u201cteasing.\u201d Since Diet Coke debuted in the 1980s<\/a>, its recipe has included aspartame. Other artificial sweeteners in diet beverages include sucralose, saccharin, acesulfame potassium, stevia and monk fruit.<\/p>\n

While Rissetto said these sweeteners are safe in \u201cnormal amounts,\u201d another expert cited by HuffPotst \u2013 Dr. Adam Perlman, chief medical officer at Pendulum Therapeutics \u2013 said none of them could be considered \u201chealthy\u201d and noted that they can impact gut bacteria. A change in gut bacteria can in turn influence how the body manages sugar.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven without sugar, several cans a day have been tied to higher risks for type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke,\u201d Perlman said. \u201cOver time, high intake may be linked to weight gain, heart problems and blood sugar issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

People who experience changes to gut bacteria and insulin resistance might also experience systemic inflammation. Rissetto said that inflammation is a \u201ccore mechanism in heart disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

That \u201cteasing\u201d quality that Swithers mentioned can also lead people to consume other sugary foods to get the caloric energy spike promised but not delivered by the artificial sweeteners. Additionally, those who consume a lot of diet soda should be aware that, though it isn\u2019t filled with sugar it is still acidic and can still contribute to tooth erosion. There\u2019s also the impact of caffeine, including potential heart issues<\/a>, to watch out for.<\/p>\n

So, how much should we drink? <\/p>\n

Now that we\u2019ve gone over some of the potential risks of drinking Diet Coke and similar drinks, we\u2019ll also address some of the reasons people keep reaching for it. As of 2021, Newsweek said<\/a> Diet Coke was the most popular soft drink in the nation, second only to the original, sugary Coca-Cola recipe.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Coca Cola company is not happy with me \u2013 that\u2019s okay, I\u2019ll still keep drinking that garbage,\u201d said Trump \u2013 known at one point to drink around a dozen Diet Cokes a day, per The New York Times<\/a> \u2013 in an X (then Twitter) post from 2012<\/a>.<\/p>\n

From 2009 through 2010, about one fifth of the U.S. population consumed diet drinks on a given day, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a>. The Mayo Clinic noted that they don\u2019t present as much of a tooth decay risk as sugary sodas and they can help with weight management and blood sugar levels. Still, it noted that they don\u2019t seem to help people lose or maintain weight over a long time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u00a0need\u00a0a soda, diet soda\u2019s probably the way to go… but switching to diet soda doesn\u2019t constitute a lasting health strategy,\u201d said Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune<\/a> in a recent piece exploring the potential benefits of switching to diet while watching Utah Jazz games.<\/p>\n

Experts seem to agree that regularly consuming a dozen, or \u201c30 to 40 a day\u201d as Fat Joe described his Diet Pepsi habit<\/a>, might not be the best health choice. Having around one a day or a few a week is likely a better compromise.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say treat it as an occasional drink, not your main source of hydration.\u201d said Rissetto. \u201cOne a day is fine for most people, but a few a week is even better. Mix it up with water, sparkling water or unsweetened drinks so you\u2019re not relying on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

UCLA Health had a similar recommendation<\/a>: \u201cWhen it comes to drinking diet soda, we think it\u2019s wise to err on the side of caution. Rather than consume it daily, save it for an occasional treat. Many people find that it\u2019s the bubbles as much as the sweet taste that they crave. That makes the many varieties of fizzy water that are now available a viable option.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From Fat Joe and Ben Affleck to President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton, a lot of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152731,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[97,269],"class_list":{"0":"post-152730","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-nutrition"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152730\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}