Diet Coke Is Not as Bad as Everyone Seems to Think

Yvette d'Entremont loves her Diet Coke, which is why it's troubling for her to read the myriad articles telling her the aspartame-sweetened beverage is killing her—or at the very least, making her fat. "If I give it up, my tastebuds will come to life, and my headaches will disappear. My bones will strengthen, and my attitude will even get better. My dog and my cat will start getting along. I’ll be able to hold warrior three," she writes on The Outline. But, seeing as she's never experienced ill effects from drinking Diet Coke, she set out to determine what's true and what's just clickbait. Turns out, a lot of it is clickbait.

In her piece, d'Entremont completely debunks some myths (Diet Coke does not deaden your tastebuds and it will not cause you to develop depression or diabetes) and points out the problems with other supposed "facts" about diet soda—for example, the study supposedly proving Diet Coke causes tooth decay didn't even come close to approximating real-life conditions. As for aspartame's supposed links to cancer and multiple sclerosis? The artificial sweetener "is one of the most extensively studied chemicals that’s ever been approved for the food supply. No link has ever been established between aspartame and cancer" or MS, she writes. Ultimately, as with anything, the key is balance: "You probably shouldn’t have too much of it," but enjoying Diet Coke in moderation is not going to kill you. Click for d'Entremont's full piece. (More Diet Coke stories.)