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Is Diet Pepsi Bad for You?

Is Diet Pepsi Bad for You?

Regular sodas such as Pepsi are high in sugar, and consuming high amounts of sugar regularly is associated with many health issues.

Diet sodas are sweetened using artificial sweeteners such as aspartame that contain no sugar.

In this article, I will provide an overview of the studies done on the effects of consuming diet sodas such as Pepsi, as well as what medical professionals state about whether they are bad for you.

In general, Diet Pepsi is bad for you.

There is a strong link between drinking Diet Pepsi and developing heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

There is also a weak link between drinking Diet Pepsi and the risk of stroke.

But diet Pepsi is better for you overall than regular Pepsi.

Regular sodas are sweetened with either sugar or corn syrup, and it has been found that Diet Pepsi is half as bad for you as regular Pepsi.

Below, I will explain how much better diet Pepsi is for you than regular Pepsi, what ingredients in Diet Pepsi make it better for you than regular soda, and how conclusive the studies are about the adverse health effects of diet soda consumption.

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Why Diet Pepsi Is Bad for You?

Why Diet Pepsi Is Bad for You?

It’s widely known that drinking too much soda sweetened with sugar or corn syrup is terrible because it contains high amounts of sugar.

However, diet sodas are also not that good for you.

Below are the reasons Diet Pepsi and diet sodas are bad for you and how much worse they are for you than regular sodas.

Diet Pepsi is bad for you because of phosphorous, artificial sweeteners, aspartame, and sodium.

Studies have shown that these increase the risk of kidney disease, heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.

But, overall, they are better for you than regular sodas.

Studies have shown that there is a robust leak between some of these ingredients and health conditions, whereas others only offer a weak link, and it’s not conclusive whether diet sodas are the direct cause of the increased risk of these health conditions.

Here is a table that shows what ingredients lead are linked to each health condition and whether the link is strong or weak:

Ingredient Health condition Link (weak or strong)
Phosphorous Kidney disease Strong link
Aspartame Heart disease Strong link
Aspartame Heart failure Strong link
Aspartame Heart attacks Strong link
Aspartame Increased blood pressure Strong link
Sodium Stroke Strong link
No specific ingredient Type 2 diabetes Strong link
No specific ingredient Kidney stones Weak link

A study has found that diet sodas increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and kidney stones (source).

But, they didn’t narrow down precisely what ingredient causes it.

Typically, a diet with more than the recommended daily sugar intake is thought to be the main factor leading to the development of type 2 diabetes.

Sugar is also quite a calorie-dense.

Diet sodas do not contain any sugar and, as a result, don’t have any calories.

However, research has shown that diet soft drinks such as Diet Pepsi cause blood sugar levels to spike. Medical professionals at Penn Medicine have stated that they are unsuitable for people with type 2 diabetes.

Medical professionals also state that diet sodas like Diet Pepsi:

  • Help with a condition known as fatty liver
  • Do not increase the risk of cancer

However, they:

  • Increase the risk of depression
  • Increase the risk of osteoporosis
  • Increase tooth decay

There are a few good alternatives to cola sodas, which can be consumed instead.

Below is a video from Dr. Steven Gundry explaining how to make it: Apparently, it is very refreshing, but I have yet to try it. It includes only 2 ingredients: soda water and balsamic vinegar.

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Is Diet Pepsi Worse Than Regular Pepsi?

Is Diet Pepsi Worse Than Regular Pepsi?

Because regular sodas like Pepsi contain high amounts of sugar, soda companies have come out with various versions that contain no sugar. Instead, they are sweetened with artificial sweeteners.

But, here is if Diet Pepsi is worse for you than regular Pepsi and if Diet Pepsi is more popular than regular Pepsi.

Diet Pepsi is not worse than regular Pepsi. Diet Pepsi is considerably better for you than regular Pepsi and is a better option.

But, studies have shown that both regular Pepsi and Diet Pepsi are linked to an increased risk of a few health conditions.

Especially if they are consumed every day.

There is also Pepsi Max, which is a diet version of Pepsi.

It contains no sugar and has slightly more caffeine than regular Pepsi.

Pepsi Max is a bit more popular than regular Pepsi. But regular Pepsi is more popular than Diet Pepsi.

I explained this in more detail and how the sales of Pepsi compare to other popular sodas like Coke in this article about how many Pepsi sodas are sold per day.

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Is Diet Pepsi Bad for Weight Loss?

Is Diet Pepsi Bad for Weight Loss

Knowing what foods and drinks are good and evil is essential when trying to lose weight.

The name Diet Pepsi suggests it’s geared towards people on a weight loss diet.

However, whether Diet Pepsi is good or bad for weight loss is below.

Diet Pepsi is not bad for weight loss.

The primary consideration for weight loss is your calorie intake relative to how many calories your body uses.

Diet Pepsi contains no calories; therefore, it does not change whether your body is in a calorie deficit or surplus.

Obesity is generally not too complex, but some people have a medical condition that causes it.

Drinking sugar-sweetened beverages like regular Pepsi and still losing weight is possible, but some care is needed.

And it’s impossible to consume more than 1 serving of soda daily.

I covered the key considerations about drinking Pepsi when you’re losing weight in the article about if it’s possible to drink Pepsi and lose weight.