The 5 surprising ways Diet Coke can be bad for your health – and why you should avoid it

IF you love a fizzy drink, chances are you think you’re being good by opting for Diet Coke or other low calorie drinks.

You get that refreshing, tasty treat without the added worry of adding more calories to your daily total.

Most people think that diet fizzy drinks are the healthier option, and the lack of calories can be a bonus.

But, in the absence of sugar to sweeten them, an artificial sweetener like aspartame gives you that much-craved ‘sugar’ kick.

Over the years, scientists have investigated just how healthy they are, with various studies suggesting they could be linked to weight gain, and obesity.

Here, we take a look at the five surprising ways that supping on a can of Diet Coke can impact your health.

1. TEETH

Fizzy drinks often contain citric acid, which is known to damage tooth enamel.

Laura Baker-Fawcus RDN, Practice Manager at  in Kent said while most people know the extremely high levels of sugar in classic fizzy drinks weaken your teeth and contributes to decay, even diet options pose a risk.

They include acids and artificial colourings, which can cause tooth discolouration, she warned.

“Dark-coloured fizzy drinks are particularly bad,” she said.

“Drinks like Coca-Cola and Pepsi contain ingredients to give them their dark colours, but they also have the same effect on your teeth.

“Drinking it with a straw might reduce the impact, but won’t completely prevent staining.”

2. WEIGHT

Studies have previously shown that artificial sweeteners can increase your risk of gaining weight.

One paper, penned in September 2021 found that sucralose, found in Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi and other soft drinks, increases food cravings and appetite in women and those who are overweight.

It was not found to have the same effect on men of a healthy weight.

Researcher Professor Kathleen Page said: “Drinking artificially sweetened drinks may trick the brain into feeling hungry, which may in turn result in more calories being consumed.”

3. DIABETES

Medics at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, have previously warned that having just two soft drinks a day more than doubles your risk of type 2 diabetes.

A couple of glasses of sugary or diet pop – such as Diet Coke – raises a person’s chance of the disease by a staggering 139 per cent, they claimed.

And those glugging a litre daily – around five servings – saw their chances of type 2 diabetes multiply over 10 times.

Experts warned Brits should switch from fizzy drinks to water.

4. STROKE

A study penned by experts at the French National Institute for Health in September this year, found that less than one can of a fizzy drink each day can raise your risk of heart disease and stroke by 10 per cent.

Writing in the , lead author Dr Mathilde Touvier said: “This study suggests an association between higher artificial sweetener consumption and increased heart disease risk. 

“Artificial sweeteners are in thousands of food and beverage brands worldwide.

“However, they remain a controversial topic and are currently being re-evaluated by health agencies.”

Data from 130,000 French people found a third of people regularly guzzle the sugar swaps, which include aspartame, sucralose and acesulfame potassium.

The top sweetener consumers had a heart disease rate of 346 per 100,000 – 10 per cent higher than 314 per 100,000 for the lowest.

Their stroke rate was 195 compared to 150 – a 30 per cent rise.

Dr Touvier added: “These food additives, consumed daily by millions of people, should not be considered a healthy and safe alternative to sugar.”

5. GUT HEALTH

According to scientists from universities in Israel and Singapore, six common artificial sweeteners – aspartame, sucralose, saccharin, neotame, advantame and acesulfame potassium-k – have all been found to be toxic to gut bacteria.

The study, published in Molecules in 2019, looked at the relative toxicity of the sweeteners and ten sports supplements containing them.

It found that the bacteria in the digestive system became toxic when exposed to tiny concentrations of the sweeteners.

Are they safe?

NHS advice says sweeteners are safe and can help to keep blood sugars low for diabetics and reduce the risk of tooth decay.

For most people – unless you’re drinking gallons of the stuff each day – it’s unlikely a can here or there will cause you permanent damage.

The British Soft Drinks Association previously said that the UK Government and Public Health England have publicly endorsed the use of non-sugar sweeteners as a safe alternative to reduce sugar in food and drink and help people manage their weight.