Diet Soda vs Non-Diet Soda

Another great question from one of your classmates:

I'm curious about diet soda versus non-diet soda. I'm a Diet Coke addict. I love that it has zero calories and it gives me an extra boost of caffeine as well as filling me up (well, a little bit anyway). However, I have heard the rumors, and lots of people comment "you are going to get cancer drinking all the Diet Coke! Don't you know it caused cancer in rats?" But I know that on lots of diet plans they say you can drink as much water and diet drinks you would like. So I know it's not great for you, but it's better than regular soda, right? Do I need to give up my daily Diet Coke?

This is one of the most hotly debated topics by nutritionists!! I couldn't really find a clear answer because there is a lot of contradictions in the research that has been done. Here are a few links that discuss the debate. The strongest argument for diet soda causing cancer is artificial sweeteners (particularly aspartame) which is used instead of sugar (and in addition to high fructose corn syrup) to lower the caloric intake. The argument against is that varying studies that sometimes show negative effects of these sweeteners and sometimes don't.


http://joi.ito.com/weblog/2002/10/26/is-diet-coke-ba.html

http://www.docshop.com/2008/10/30/does-diet-soda-truly-lead-to-cancer/



Some interesting facts on why Coca-Cola uses high fructose corn syrup instead of sugar!!

Some quick numbers, on why Coke would use HFCS over sugar.

Annual US Per capita consumption of Coke in servings: 411

People in the United States: 297,890,000

Servings of Coke in the US, per year: 122,432,790,000

How much a 5 cent cost increase in sweetener, per serving, would affect the bottom line of Coca Cola: $6,121,639,500

How much a penny cost increase in sweetener, per serving, would cost Coca-Cola:
$1,224,327,900

How much 1/10th of a cent increase in sweetener, per serving, would cost Coca-Cola:
$122,423,790.

That's a cost saving in the billions over years time. Of course, what Coke doesn't tell you is that your tax dollars are supporting their profit margins. You can thank Corn subsidies for that.

UPDATE: For more explanation on the Government's role in Corn and Corn Syrup, read this article.

Additionally, Per Capita consumption of Coca Cola can be found in any of their company annual reports.