If you’re a regular in the soda aisle of the grocery store, you may have noticed an uptick in zero-sugar sodas in recent years. From Coca-Cola to Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, and Mountain Dew, most of the classic soda brands have branched out to provide this seemingly healthier option. Traditional diet versions — like Diet Coke — are still around, but others (Diet Crush, Diet A&W Cream Soda and Diet Canada Dry) have all been phased out and replaced by zero-sugar alternatives. So what’s the difference between diet soda and zero-sugar soda? The sweetener used in most diet sodas today is aspartame, which was classified as a “possible carcinogen” by the World Health Organization in 2023. Experts, however, say that the amount of aspartame in diet sodas is unlikely to cause any health problems, as long as the drinks are consumed in moderation. Having a Diet Coke every day with lunch should pose no problem. Zero-sugar sodas, on the other hand, are sweetened with a combination of aspartame and acesulfame potassium (Ace-K). The FDA has deemed Ace-K safe in moderation. Both aspartame and Ace-K are 200 times sweeter than table sugar. The major difference between diet soda and zero-sugar soda is the caffeine. A 12-ounce can of diet soda has about 46mg of caffeine, while zero-sugar soda contains about 34mg. The bottom line: Diet sodas are not health food and they don’t add anything to the diet except some pleasure. If you’re going to drink them, enjoy them in moderation.
