8 Potential Side Effects of Consuming Too Much Diet Soda
Free of calories, carbs, and sugar, diet soda may seem like a healthy and refreshing alternative to sugary soft drinks.
However, this bubbly beverage may not be quite as harmless as it seems, especially if you’re drinking several servings per day.
In fact, drinking too much diet soda may be linked to several side effects and affect both long- and short-term health.
Here are 8 possible side effects of diet soda, plus some easy ways to reduce your intake.
Some research suggests that the artificial sweeteners found in diet soda might negatively affect your gut microbiome, which is the community of beneficial bacteria in your digestive tract.
The gut microbiome plays a key role in many aspects of health, including immune function, nutrient absorption, heart health, and more (
One small study including 7 people found that the artificial sweetener saccharin impaired blood sugar management and caused imbalances in gut bacteria among 57% of participants (
Another animal study showed that acesulfame K (Ace-K), another type of artificial sweetener in some types of diet soda, negatively affected the makeup of the gut microbiome in mice (
On the other hand, some other studies in humans and animals have turned up conflicting results (
Aspartame is one of the most common nonnutritive sweeteners in diet soda. Many studies have investigated its safety, but few have looked into its effects on the human microbiome (6).
However, we do know that