CNN article: 10 Reasons To Give Up Diet Soda

Diet soda is responsible for health conditions such as cancer and premature births.

http://www.belmarrahealth.com/cancer/addicted-to-diet-soda-eu-food-safety-body-says-no-new-risk-from-aspertame/

It confuses your body

Perhaps, if you are drinking 2L of the stuff a day. Yo-yo dieting will confuse your body more.

It could lead to weight gain, not weight loss

One of the explanations for this is that people who drink diet soda have a tendency to overeat afterwards, because of the 'I've been good by drinking diet soda, now I deserve a treat' effect.

It's associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes

Again, this is because of what else is being eaten in the diet and not a result of the ingredients in diet soda. The researchers themselves state "overconsumption of other foods/beverages may also occur in conjunction with diet beverage consumption owing to overestimation of the number of calories saved by substituting diet beverages for sugar-sweetened beverages"
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/32/4/688.full.pdf+html

It has no nutritional value

Neither does normal soda.

Its sweetener is linked to headaches ( aspartame )

For people sensitive to aspartame then yes, this can be a problem. But excess sugar from normal soda can also cause headaches. If you don't get headaches from drinking diet soda then this isn't a problem for you.

It'll ruin your smile over time

As will drinking coke, coffee, tea if you have poor oral hygiene. Diet soda in itself will not ruin your smile.

It makes drinking more dangerous (Using diet soda as a low-calorie cocktail mixer has the dangerous effect of getting you drunk faster )

This is bullsh*t. The only reason you could get drunk faster would be because of the fizzy bubbles, which are no worse in diet soda than in normal soda, and if your drink of choice is sparkling wine or beer then you get exactly the same effect from these drinks.

It's associated with depression

SODA is associated with depression, as this article states, not specifically diet soda. One explanation for this is that the studies showing links haven't controlled for BMI, weight loss activity or even weight, so nobody has yet proved that diet soda or even soda CAUSES depression.

It may be bad for your bones - (Women over 60 are already at a greater risk for osteoporosis than men, and Tufts University researchers found that drinking soda, including diet soda, compounds the problem. )

This study from Tufts University showed a link between the phosphoric acid and caffeine content of cola drinks and bone loss. It showed a weaker correlation between diet soda cola drinks and normal cola soda drinks, which didn't reach the level of statistical significance (e.g. was not <0.05%). Cola was the main culprit here, not diet drinks and not even diet cola drinks. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/84/4/936.full.pdf+html

It may hurt your heart - (Just one diet soft drink a day could boost your risk of having a vascular event such as stroke, heart attack, or vascular death, according to researchers from the University of Miami and Columbia University)

This is the only study that has found this result and the researchers themselves state "Further research is needed before any conclusions can be made regarding the potential health consequences of diet soft drink consumption." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22282311

I think I'll go with those giving up CNN instead.

Diet soda is responsible for health conditions such as cancer and premature births.

http://www.belmarrahealth.com/cancer/addicted-to-diet-soda-eu-food-safety-body-says-no-new-risk-from-aspertame/

Lol, funny but the link you posted states the opposite.

"Additionally, the current study also ruled out the potential risk of aspartame causing damage to genes or causing cancer. Furthermore, it was found that aspartame poses no risk to a developing fetus. The findings from the current research suggest that consuming aspartame at levels within the recommended ADI poses no significant risks to healthy adults or children."

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Its sweetener is linked to headaches ( aspartame )

So are children.

And shopping at Walmart.... LOL

And Husbands
And work
And not drinking diet coke (caffeine headache)
And a lot of other things

correlation does not equal causation

*sips diet drink*

Diet soda is nasty because the aspartame makes it taste fake.

Regular soda is nasty because it's sooooo sickly sweet. The only time I will ever drink regular soda is when I have an upset stomach and I'm out somewhere and I think of it.

I stick to seltzer water if I want something carbonated.