Diet Coke is one of the most popular sodas, and consumers are often curious about whether it’s a better option than regular Coke due to the lack of sugar. Most people don’t consider Diet Coke to be healthy, but many wonder if it’s actually bad for you.
Does Diet Coke contain ingredients proven to be bad for you? Is it a healthier or less healthy option than regular Coke? How does it compare to other soda brands? And can too much of it negatively affect the brain?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Diet Coke to give our take on whether or not it’s bad for you.
We’ll share some surprising research on how Diet Coke may affect the brain, compare its nutrition to regular Coke, and provide our healthy soda recommendation.
Key takeaways:
- Diet Coke contains unhealthy additives
- Diet Coke is still healthier in our view than Original Coke
- We do not currently recommend Diet Coke
Does Diet Coke Contain Harmful Ingredients?
The ingredients in Diet Coke are shown below:
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener, and is what causes Diet Coke to taste sweet while containing no sugar.
A medical review published in the Nutrients journal documented some potential safety concerns about the substance.
The breakdown of aspartame by the body results in formaldehyde which “may damage DNA,” and one liter of diet soda results in around 60 milligrams (mg) of formaldehyde, which is 400 times the acceptable daily intake (ADI) level.
Potassium benzoate is a synthetic preservative which has been shown in a clinical trial to be clastogenic (DNA-damaging), mutagenic (potential for genetic mutation) and cytotoxic (toxic to living cells).
Citric acid is a flavor enhancer and preservative typically derived from a fungus, which is clinically shown to cause whole-body inflammatory reactions in some individuals, as we documented in our is Coke Zero healthy article (Coke Zero also contains this ingredient).
Natural flavors is a broad category descriptor that fails to identify the specific flavoring agents used. There are documented toxicity concerns with some flavoring ingredients.
Phosphoric acid is a flavor enhancer associated with hypocalcemia (low blood calcium levels) in a medical review.
Women who consumed one or more soda drinks with phosphoric acid were 28% more likely to have low blood calcium levels, which can lead to osteoporosis if not treated.
Overall, we consider Diet Coke to be bad for you given the number of questionable additive ingredients that are associated with negative health outcomes in clinical research.
Is Diet Soda Bad for the Body and Brain?
An interesting, animated video published by Science Insider examined whether diet soda intake could be harmful to the body and brain. The video is only three minutes long:
Is Regular Coke Healthier?
The ingredients in regular Coke are shown below:
Phosphoric acid and natural flavors are included, and we explained in the previous Ingredient Analysis section why we recommend avoiding these ingredients.
High fructose corn syrup is the sweetener ingredient in Coke Original.
High fructose corn syrup has been extensively studied in medical trials, and is one of the processed food ingredients that's most highly associated with obesity.
A Cleveland Clinic review found that high fructose corn syrup “promotes obesity more than regular sugar.”
A meta-study published in the PLOS One journal found that high fructose corn syrup can induce metabolic dysregulation.
Overall, we consider Diet Coke to be healthier than Coke Original, because of how harmful we consider high fructose corn syrup to be.
Diet Coke is also zero-calorie, which may make it a better option for overweight and obese individuals, given that regular Coke contains 140 calories and 39 grams (g) of added sugar in a 12 ounce can.
Our Healthy Soda Pick
Olipop is our healthy soda pick.
This natural soda uses no flavoring additives or refined sugar, and is instead flavored with nutritionally-rich botanical ingredients like mandarin juice (which is clinically shown to be a potent antioxidant), nopal cactus and calendula flower.
The cans have only 2 to 5 g of added sugar from natural sources like cassava root syrup and apple juice.
