“I Have Bladder Cancer” – "Say It with Pepsi™!" : Is Diet Soda Killing You?

            About a fifth of Americans consume diet soda every day (Fakhouri et al., 2012). It seems like such a good alternative to regular, sugary soda: no calories or other worries associated with excessive sugar consumption: insulin spikes, high fructose corn syrup, teeth damage, you name it. So, that brings up a question: is diet soda a blessing or a curse?

            The main difference between regular and diet soda is that diet soda uses artificial sweeteners instead of regular sugar or high fructose corn syrup. The first diet drink, ginger ale named No-Cal, appeared in 1952 (Siegel, 2006). It was marketed towards people who suffered from diabetes and used sodium cyclamate as a sweetener. Two soda market giants, The Coca-Cola Company and Pepsi joined the market in 1963, introducing their diet products, making it a huge success. First ads show how the product was marketed towards people who want to watch their weight and be attractive to the opposite sex (youtube.com).

            As mentioned before, the first artificial sweetener to be used was sodium cyclamate; however, after its introduction, some studies on rat models found correlation with the consumption of cyclamates and bladder cancer (Taubes, 2017). Following the studies, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the use of cyclamates in soft drinks. It is still used outside the United States today, however (FDA.gov, 2014).

            After the ban, companies switched to other various sweeteners, such as saccharin and aspartame. If you pick up a can of diet soda today, the most often used sweeteners are aspartame and acesulfame potassium. Both sparked a lot of controversy, particularly aspartame, which led to aspartame being one of the most studied compounds in the world (Kearsley and O’Donnell, 2006). Many claims were made, including that it causes cancer, makes you actually gain weight, and contributes to depression. The FDA dismissed all these claims, insisting on the compound being safe (Marinovich, 2013). Interestingly, one of the reasons why it is associated with cancer is an old study on rats that concluded that it causes multiple cancer tumors in the bladder; however, the dose of the sweetener that the animals received was higher that any possible dose that a human could consume in the entire lifetime (Taubes, 2017). A new study in Italy regarding usage of aspartame in regular doses and its correlation with cancer was determined to be flawed and was subsequently dismissed by both the FDA and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) (FDA.gov via loc.gov, 2007).

            A very popular modern sweetener, acesulfame potassium (or acesulfame K), was approved by the FDA in 1988 (Whitehouse et al., 2008). All claims regarding its unsafety were dismissed by the FDA and the EFSA (Kroger et al., 2006).

            Many people are still concerned with the use of diet soda and its potential carcinogenic and other effects; however, it looks like all the existing evidence points towards the diet soda being safe. Even though everything can be safe in moderate consumption, fresh, clean water is better than soda and any associated soft drinks. But if, like me, you can’t help yourself and need to indulge into a fizzy, crisp, caffeinated beverage, then the diet option seems less harmful. Many people dislike diet soda because it has a different taste compared to regular sugary soda. I, personally, prefer diet soda not only because of the health benefits but also the taste itself.

Bottoms up!

Sources:

20% of Americans drink diet soda every day: https://permanent.access.gpo.gov/gpo44747/DB109.pdf.

Kearsley, Malcolm W. and O’Donnell, Kay. “Sweeteners and sugar alternatives in food technology,” 2006. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 94.

Diet Pepsi ad from 1960s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfcqtBeu2hQ.

Siegel, Benjamin. “Sweet Nothing—the Triumph Of Diet Soda.” American Heritage, 2006, americanheritage.com/content/sweet-nothing%E2%80%94-triumph-diet-soda-0.

Taubes, Gary. “The Case against Sugar,” 2017. London, England: Portobello books.

NIH’s webpage on cancer and artificial sweeteners:
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/artificial-sweeteners-fact-sheet

FDA’s statement on the Italian aspartame study: http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20100730225205/http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodIngredientsPackaging/FoodAdditives/ucm208580.htm

FDA’s statement on cyclomates: https://www.fda.gov/food/ingredientspackaginglabeling/foodadditivesingredients/ucm397716.htm

Whitehouse, Christina R., et al. “The Potential Toxicity of Artificial Sweeteners.” AAOHN Journal, 2008. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18604921

Marinovich M. et al. “Aspartame, low-calorie sweeteners and disease: regulatory safety and epidemiological issues.” Food and Chemical Toxicology 2013.

Kroger, Manfred, et al. “Low-Calorie Sweeteners and Other Sugar Substitutes: A Review of the Safety Issues.” Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 2006.