Is diet soda actually bad for you?
What the research found, how to do it, and every source the episode cites.
The verdict
Diet beats sugary.
- When
- you reach for a soda
- Then
- pick the diet one
§ 01 · The protocol
§ 02 · Transcript
- The question
Is diet soda actually bad for you?
- How it works
Diet soda swaps sugar for sweeteners. Aspartame is a common one. They're far sweeter than sugar. A tiny amount does the job. That's why a can has almost no calories. So where does the fear come from? Studies that only track what people drink linked diet soda to health problems. But people with weight to lose already drink more of it. That's like blaming umbrellas for rain.
- The research
Trials test that directly. In twelve of them, people switched from sugary drinks to diet. Blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol held steady.
- The protocol
Here's what to do. If you drink sugary soda, switch to diet. You keep the sweet taste, without the sugar.
- The verdict
So no. The trials found no harm. Diet beats sugary soda. Track your nutrition with Anvilus.
§ 03 · In the sources' words
“using LNCSBs as an intended substitute for SSBs was associated with small improvements in body weight and cardiometabolic risk factors without evidence of harm”
“LNCSBs were a substitute for SSBs in 12 RCTs (n = 601 participants)”
“NSSs are generally sweeter than sucrose, but contain far fewer or no calories”
“Because the link observed in the evidence between NSS and disease outcomes might be confounded by baseline characteristics of study participants and complicated patterns of NSS use, the recommendation has been assessed as conditional”
“Consumption of foods/drinks containing <name of sugar replacer> instead of sugar* induces a lower blood glucose rise after their consumption compared to sugar- containing foods/drinks”
“The median (range) duration of follow-up was 12 (3-52) weeks”
§ 04 · Sources
- McGlynn ND, Khan TA, Wang L, et al. Association of low- and no-calorie sweetened beverages as a replacement for sugar-sweetened beverages with body weight and cardiometabolic risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Netw Open 2022;5(3):e222092 (17 RCTs, 1733 adults with overweight or obesity at risk for or with diabetes; commissioned by the EASD's DNSG and funded by CIHR; 8 trials agency-funded, 4 industry, 5 mixed)
- Toews I, Lohner S, Küllenberg de Gaudry D, Sommer H, Meerpohl JJ. Association between intake of non-sugar sweeteners and health outcomes: systematic review and meta-analyses of randomised and non-randomised controlled trials and observational studies. BMJ 2019;364:k4718 (56 studies; funded by WHO, conducted independently)
- World Health Organization. Aspartame hazard and risk assessment results released. News release, 14 July 2023 (IARC and JECFA assessments)
- World Health Organization. WHO advises not to use non-sugar sweeteners for weight control in newly released guideline. News release, 15 May 2023 (summary of the WHO guideline on non-sugar sweeteners; the guideline PDF itself could not be fetched)
- EU Register on nutrition and health claims, entry for sugar replacers (intense sweeteners), authorised by Commission Regulation (EU) No 432/2012
More from the manual
- 001How much creatine do you actually need?VerdictMake it a habit
- 002Should you wake up at the same time on weekends?VerdictTrack your sleep
- 003Can morning light help you sleep better?VerdictTry it for two weeks
- 004Does cardio kill your gains?VerdictKeep your cardio
- 006Do you need vitamin D in winter?VerdictYes, in weak sun
- 007Does your phone keep you awake?VerdictWorth a two-week try
- 008How many sets per week do you actually need to grow?VerdictSets keep paying
- 009Do testosterone boosters actually work?VerdictSkip the boosters