Many moms drink diet soda and some even give it to their kids. When diet soda first hit the market in the late 1970’s (remember Tab?) it was thought to be a genius product.
But over the past decade or two a lot of bad press surrounding artificial sweeteners, especially Aspartame, has led to a decrease in diet soda consumption.
This past April, Pepsi surprised many when announced it was dumping the artificial sweetener aspartame from its Diet Pepsi formula. The sweetener, which is sold under the brand names Equal and NutraSweet, has been linked to at least 90 symptoms, including headaches, dizziness, fatigue, weight gain, depression, and memory loss. Several studies have addressed the safety of diet sodas.
The results have found that drinking diet soda sweetened with aspartame increases the raise the risk of:
- Diabetes. A study published in the journal Nature found that regular diet soda consumption increases the risk of diabetes. Another study at the University of Minnesota found that a single diet soda daily raised the risk of diabetes by 36 percent.
- Heart disease. Researchers from the University of Miami and Columbia University found that again just a single diet soda daily over a period of 10 years increased the risk of a stroke and/or heart attack by 43 percent.
- Weight gain. Even though it is suppose to be “diet” and most diet drinks have zero calories, a study at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio found those who regularly drank diet sodas were overweight than those who regularly drink sugary sodas. In fact, researchers found that a daily diet soda increases the risk of obesity by 41% and two or more diet sodas a day increases risk of obesity 500%
Finally, other studies on Aspartame have found that regular consumption of the additive can trigger or worsen chronic illnesses including Parkinson’s disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, Alzheimer’s, and fibromyalgia.
Still, the Food and Drug Administration insists aspartame is safe.