Diet soda not worth the risk

By News Editor: Kayla McClain

Many people in America today consume massive amounts of regular and diet pop, and both contain ingredients that are in no way healthy or nutritious for our bodies. The direct excuse is, “If it’s diet pop, it must be healthier than regular, right?” Actually, if you tell yourself that enough, you may start to believe it. But the cold truth is that diet is just as bad, and can be worse in some cases, than regular pop.

Imagine taking a sip of that delicious, carbonated beverage that just tingles your senses with its sweetness. Now, ask yourself, if this is diet pop with no calories, fat, or sugar, how could it possibly be bad? Well, that my friends, is because of what it does contain: aspartame, phosphoric acid, caffeine, acesulfame potassium, and potassium benzoate.

From American Cancer Society’s website, the main concern should be the aspartame, which is the most common artificial sweetener used in diet drinks. How it works is that it is 200 times sweeter than the amount of regular sugar, resulting in using less sweetener. This is why there are fewer calories when it is used, and people assume that it is healthy. Although there are no calories in this sweet treat, it is possible that it causes cancer.

“Some have the PKU gene and they cannot process phenylalanine (an amino acid found in Aspartame). If people with the PKU gene consume phenylalanine, they will suffer neurological damage and possibly death,” Fitday’s website says.

Not only is it highly toxic if enough is consumed, many people don’t even like the taste of diet.  Of course, some do, but if the aspartame is supposed to be extra sweet, why does it have a tangy and bitter flavor?

The mystery lies within phosphoric acid. This can destroy human calcium, which the body needs to produce healthy teeth and bones. This is what creates the tangy flavor, and not to mention that it is linked to kidney disease. Also, diet is related to the first level of battery acid. And you’re drinking it. Just think about that.

Although regular contains many of the same qualities to damage the body, at least it tastes good. That is the main reason most people drink it, after all.

According to a Healthyliving article, diet Coca-cola and Pepsi products have the ability to cause kidney damage, metabolism issues, obesity increase, and especially rots teeth. Based on this, there are ingredients that are in both diet and regular. Caffeine is not necessarily considered unhealthy, but even caffeine in diet is worse than in coffee or tea. Whereas coffee or tea contain caffeine naturally, caffeine in soda is artificial.

“Synthetic caffeine is metabolized differently in your body than it would be if it were combined with the nutrients of coffee or tea, creating a synergistic effect,” Fitday says.

Many people who consume diet soda drink it continuously throughout the day. One 12-ounce can of diet soda can contain anywhere from 50 to 80 mg of caffeine. The need for sugar and caffeine is addictive, psychologically and physically. With the fake additives, the body feels like it craves more. As for regular pop, some would drink it less.

Now, imagine again instead of drinking a delectable bubbly beverage, how does a cancer-causing, acidic, body damaging liquid sound? Yum!

Diet pop not as scary as it sounds

By Managing Editor: Amber Lee Carnahan

I’ve often heard people complain about diet pop, about how it is supposedly unhealthy or about how it just tastes gross. Regardless of the complaints, the comments never fail to surprise me. My family has always drunk diet pop, and I never felt any strange effects from it, nor did I find the taste particularly disgusting. If I was faced with the option of either diet or regular, I would probably choose the diet out of familiarity. Diet pop contains no sugar, which makes it the healthier pop for my family since my father is diabetic. However, certain aspects of diet pop, especially the artificial sweeteners used, have sparked debate as to whether it is the healthier option.

“Sweetener consumption could contribute to weight gain, diabetes, and heart disease.”

The sugar substitutes that are contained in most diet pops are composed of aspartame, xylitol and stevia. The substance that is most debated is aspartame, which is suspected to have toxic effects. However, studies have failed to prove whether these claims are true. A study conducted at Purdue University in Indiana claims that diet drinks are no healthier than the regular counterparts due to the artificial sweetener aspartame. In the study, it is suggested that the chemical may fail to trigger the “full” feeling in the brain, which could lead to overeating elsewhere and an overall weight gain.

Catherine Collins, a principal dietitian at St. George’s Hospital, disputes these claims in an interview with the Dailymail. “There are many, many factors involved with us feeling full or satisfied, and indeed experiments have shown that chocolate cravings are noticeably reduced the moment you eat the first piece, before the sugar even hits your bloodstream, so this study proves nothing.”

The real risk for obesity and diabetes lies in the high sugar content of regular sodas. Sugar has a high calorific content which requires Insulin in order to break it down. Sweeteners, on the other hand, have little to no calories, which limits the amount of Insulin needed for the body to continue functioning. The added sugar in regular pop increases the calorie count, which is a direct contributor to weight gain.An average soda contains between 100 and 150 calories compared to the zero calories in diet pop.

“Diet pop can cause a messed-up metabolism.”

Another common complaint against diet pop is that it is linked to a higher risk for metabolic syndrome. Symptoms associated with a messed-up metabolism include belly fat and high cholesterol, both of which put you at risk for heart disease.

On Healthy Living, in an article detailing seven side effects of diet pop, Mandy Oaklander writes, “According to a 2008 University of Minnesota study of almost 10,000 adults, even just one diet soda a day is linked to a 34% higher risk of metabolic syndrome, the group of symptoms including belly fat and high cholesterol that puts you at risk for heart disease. Whether that link is attributed to an ingredient in diet soda or the drinkers’ eating habits is unclear. But is that one can really worth it?”

Most studies examining the health risks of diet pop are largely unscientific and lacking in certainty. Many people who drink diet pop already have an unhealthy lifestyle. One can of diet pop will neither drastically ruin your health nor will it help instigate instant weight loss. Excessive consumption of any caffeinated beverage is bound to cause health issues; placing the blame solely on diet pop is unrealistic. The sugar content in regular soda, for instance, is a greater cause of concern for weight gain, which could in turn lead to metabolic syndrome.

Most claims against diet pop lack scientific research and should be read with a grain of salt. While long term and excessive consumption of diet pop will logically have an impact on one’s health, the same can be said about regular soda. In fact, indulging in regular soda would lead to a worse outcome due to the high amount of added sugar. The effect diet pop may have depends on the individual. With moderation and common sense, diet soda can be a healthy alternative to regular pop.