But it's DIET

 Diet sodas have no nutritional value and may actually be harmful! [1]

Yeah I am one of those people... not the ones who live by diet coke (soda/pop) but the one who points out how bad it is for you. I always get "but it's diet", and sometime the added "no sugar", as a response and I am tired of not having solid evidence to state exactly why it's still not good. These 'sugar free' calorie free drinks are taking over peoples lives and making them think that because these two big components are 'removed' that it's okay to sip on it all day. I know someone who literally drinks at least 2 to 3 64 ounce diet cokes - while at work! That is a ton of crap your putting in your body in an 8 hour period. Since he told me about previous weight issues I tried to hint to him that sipping on diet coke isn't good for him, especially when trying to overcome past obstacles - "but its diet and doesn't have sugar". I want to scream every time I hear that! (no joke). 

Diet sodas are not good for you in ANY way, and sometimes I even feel bad for the people who try to say they aren't bad for you. Soft drink marketers spend a lot of money convincing people that drinking diet is okay for their health. The American people have been told falsehoods and lead to believe/interpret them as truths. Although there are a lot of mixed reports on the use and consumption of artificial sweeteners, I went through and found some reports and studies on diet sodas specifically. The LifeStrong link at the bottom of the page is the general 'diet drinks' page and below it are a plethora of  'do diet drinks cause...' links. Their site is very informative because they also gather information from other sites to find their facts.

Here are a few key point as to how/why diet drinks are no good.

• Some studies suggest that when our taste buds sense sweet our bodies expect a calorie will be following it. When this does not happen it may cause us to overeat to satisfy that energy rush that the body was expecting. [1] Also the artificial sweeteners may actually be dulling your taste buds causing you to eat more. [1 & 2]

• Studies have shown that rats fed artificial sweeteners actually gained more weight than those not given any (either no sweets or regular sugar) [1 & 2]

• Read your labels! Diet soda is full of sodium, phosphoric acid, caffeine, and artificial sweeteners. Caffeine and sodium are both diuretics, which means you are not quenching thirst and may actually end up being even more thirsty as a result. [3]

• One study found that those who drink a diet soda daily were at 48% higher risk of having a stroke or other vascular incident than those who did not drink it at all [4]

• Some studies show links between the increased level of diet soda consumption and metabolic syndrome (high insulin levels) [5]

• OverEaters Anonymous doesn't even allow you to have diet sodas because it can lead to dependency and weight gain [5]

What all these sites/sources had in common was that they made sure to state that studies on diet coke/soda are young, we haven't gathered enough information to say 'causation', instead we are limited to 'correlations'. Bottom line is that while drinking diet soda may not have any direct links to bad health, it has ZERO links to positive health (aka there is no reason you should drink it). You are not going to change an avid drinker's mind or convince them to put the can down, but you will know for yourself and your health that there are better options. Tea, naturally flavored water, coffee... there are other ways to satisfy the 'sweet' craving without leading you to eat more calories later. Plus, with water and tea you will also be getting that extra benefit of actually hydrating your body! 

I hardly ever drink any soft drinks at all... in fact I had a few sips of Dr. Pepper the other day and before that it had been nearly 2 months since I had a can of coke. No kidding. I just don't find it satisfying anymore. But if/when I do drink sip on it, I have the regular sugar kind - no fake sugars for me at all. period. 

1. MensHealth
2. FooducateBlog
3. WomenToWomen
4. DiabetesMine
5. LiveStrong