Your Questions Answered: The Truth About Diet Soda from a Dietitian

There's nothing more frustrating than browsing your regular news sites and finding alarming reports about the safety of the contents in your fridge. Because I'm a nutrition expert, clients and friends share these types of articles with me hoping I can calm their fears. More and more people have been asking me about diet soda: Is it safe? Does it cause weight-gain? Some of you have been drinking diet soda for years - but now the media is increasingly telling you to "stay away" in sensational headlines. Since so many of you are talking about it, here are the facts related to your most pressing diet soda questions:

Low- and no-calorie sweeteners - including those in diet drinks - are safe. The proof is in the science - there have been more than 200 studies showing these sweeteners are safe. The FDA and other trusted health groups such as the National Cancer Institute, American Medical Association, and Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) all agree on their safety. Interestingly, scientists define safe levels of sweeteners with a term called Acceptable Daily Intakes (ADI); sweeteners in foods and beverages are actually well below the recommended ADI levels.

Diet soda can help people manage their weight. Rumors saying diet soda intake leads to weight gain and increased waist size are just that - false rumors! According to the AND, low-calorie sweeteners do not increase appetite; in fact they have been proven to help reduce food intake. An American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study also found drinking diet soda in place of more caloric beverages leads to weight loss.

Diet soda doesn't cause stroke or heart problems. Recently, research linked diet soda to vascular disease but the lead researcher herself said people shouldn't avoid diet soda because of this study alone. Sadly, many stories left this perspective out. More importantly, the research only found an association between diet soda intake and vascular disease; diet soda was not shown to cause heart disease or stroke.

The next time you see a scary headline about your favorite food or drink, I encourage you to do additional research before banning it from your diet. And let's take a step back and remember all foods and drinks can live happily in your fridge and be a part of your diet in sensible amounts. The truth is you're more likely to stick to a healthy, balanced diet when you're enjoying your food - not depriving yourself.

Jessica Fishman Levinson, MS, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian and the founder of Nutritioulicious, a nutrition counseling and consulting practice in New York City. She is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and consults for several food and beverage companies including the Coca-Cola Company, Avocados from Mexico, and the Corn Refiners Association.