Okay, as a Diet Coke drinker myself, delving into this topic was a bit daunting at first and I was worried that I would never want to pick up another silver bottle with my name on it again, but I believe that as more of the population are opting for low calorie substitutes in an attempt to win the battle against weight gain, it is vital that we are made aware of the pros and cons of aspartame – the chemical that puts the ‘diet’ in Diet Coke. .
Aspartame is an intense sweetener, approximately 200 times sweeter than sugar, used in drinks and food. It is a chemical that woman and men are grateful for because it enables them to enjoy hundreds of different types of food and drink with significantly lower calorie levels compared to the “real-deal”. It is found in more than 6,000 products and is consumed by over 200 million people around the world. However, as the use of aspartame has grown it has been subject to significant criticism and it is a common argument that the chemicals in diet drinks are more harmful than full-fat drinks.
You may be thinking that you don’t want to on due to your intense Diet-Coke, or even Diet-Irn Bru, addiction, but it doesn’t hurt to take a bit of time to know what you are really putting inside your body.
There are two obvious reasons for drinking diet drinks. Firstly, they are a low-calorie option and are therefore popular amongst those wanting to battle weight gain and secondly, there is the matter of caffeine. Caffeine is classed as a drug because it stimulates the central nervous system, causing increased alertness. Diet drinks contain more caffeine than their full-fat counterparts. For example, Diet-Coke contains 12.8 mg/100ml whereas Regular Coke contains 9.7 mg/100ml. Thus, many people drink it for the caffeine kick but this can lead to addiction. I was astonished to read articles about women drinking more than 50 cans of diet coke a day! However, drinking too many diet drinks containing the high levels of caffeine may lead to shakiness, dizziness, headaches, anxiety, abnormal heart rhythms and insomnia. To avoid this, it is best to drink considerably less than 50 cans a day!
Not only is the caffeine aspect of diet drinks dangerous, it is also claimed that drinking diet beverages does not help or stop weight gain, in fact it can increase weight gain. A study by the University of Texas Health Science Center found that the more diet sodas a person drank, the greater their risk of becoming overweight. This is because artificial sweeteners can disrupt the body’s natural ability to regulate calorie intake based on the sweetness of foods. Ultimately, people who consume diet foods might be more likely to overeat, because your body is being tricked into thinking it’s eating sugar, and you crave more. This is your metabolism that it is playing with; 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. This completely questions the purpose of diet drinks. Consequently, it is argued that it is better to eat/drink the full-fat version as your body is able to break this down. You can work your sneaky treat off in the gym the next day.
Talking of “sneaky treats”, who doesn’t love a night out guzzling a few too many vodka mixers? Well you might not want to mix your vodka with diet coke anymore because this causes an almighty shocker of a hangover – as does the vodka, but we’re not judging! According to the Royal Adelaide Hospital in Australia, drinks made with diet soda get you drunker faster – which we at HC accept may not seem like much of a negative. This is because sugar-free mixers allow alcohol to enter your bloodstream much quicker than those with sugar, leaving you feeling much more intoxicated. Although you will be full of energy for cutting some shapes on the d-floor, you will not be feeling so lively in the morning.
A more serious matter is that research indicates that diet soft drinks are linked with type II diabetes. In a French study, 66,118 women were followed for a total of 14 years. Women who consumed the most diet drinks had a 121% greater risk of developing type II diabetes. This is a worrying statistic. Research has also indicated that those who consume diet drinks daily are at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. Finally, it has been suggested that drinking high levels of aspartame may lead to cancer. However, there is not enough evidence to confirm this. Nevertheless, it raises the question whether diet drinks should even be sold!
The issues above paint a dark picture for diet drinks but the Food Standards Agency, an independent food safety watchdog set up by the government in 2000, states that there is no reliable scientific evidence to back up claims that aspartame causes any of the serious disorders with which it has been linked. I sense a sigh of relief!
The matters that have been raised are serious but it must be noted that these types of side effects will only effect those who are drinking a substantial amount of diet drinks regularly. An average adult should consume no more than 40 milligrams of aspartame per kilogram of body weight per day. In order to exceed this limit, most people would need to drink more than 14 cans a day. I think we can all agree that none of us are able to drink that many a day, even on our worst LiqWed hangover!
The main message here is that you should be aware of the dangers of aspartame but if you do wish to indulge in a diet drink once in a while then your body will not suffer too much. The ideal situation would be that you don’t need to, but if you must, no more than 14 cans a day please!