What if I told you that the most popular weight-loss product in America was scientifically proven to actually make you fatter?
It’s true. The name of that product: Diet soda.
In fact, daily diet soda drinkers grow 2 ½ more inches of belly fat each decade than those who don’t drink the stuff, according to a recent study. Even if you’re consuming fewer calories, you may still gain weight thanks to diet soda.
“Diet drinks cause insulin to be released in your gut because their artificial sweeteners are sweet like sugar, and that actually prevents weight loss,” Miriam Jacobson, RD, CDN, told us. “Insulin is your body’s primary fat-storage hormone, so it will have the body hold onto any extra fat.”
Diet sodas also harm the immune system because their acidity causes havoc with our gut bacteria. And the caramel coloring in many sodas contains an artificial form of phosphorous that’s been shown to leach calcium from our bones.
But while every diet soda is bad for you, some are clearly worse than others. The team at Eat This, Not That! took 38 brands into our Food Lab, and pored over the ingredients of the most popular diet sodas in America. Read on to discover where your favorite cola landed—and discover our surprising #1 pick, which might become your new go-to. And lose weight the right way thanks to Insanity trainer Shaun T, Maria Menounos, Padma Lakshmi and more using these FREE 50 Best-Ever Weight Loss Secrets From Skinny People!
How We Ranked Them
First, we measured the amount of artificial sweetener in each soda, paying special attention to aspartamane, the most pervasive sweetener. The low-calorie sugar alternative, made by joining two amino acids with an alcohol, is 180 times sweeter than sugar—and the subject of controversy. Some researchers claim to have linked aspartame to brain tumors and lymphoma, but the FDA insists the sweetener is safe for humans. At Eat This, Not That!, we recommend you limit your consumption. And given the public’s interest in limiting their aspartame intake (see Diet Pepsi), we gave demerits to diet sodas with high aspartame counts.
Then, also docked points for high levels of ingredients you wouldn’t expect in your beverage—like vegetable oils and tree bark—and gave high marks to new brands with more natural blends.
And now, without further ado (or should we say, a Dew)…The Top 38 Diet Sodas—Ranked!
38. Diet Mountain Dew
Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Concentrated Orange Juice, Citric Acid, Natural Flavors, Citrus Pectin, Potassium Benzoate (Preserves Freshness), Aspartame, Potassium Citrate, Caffeine, Sodium Citrate, Acesulfame Potassium, Sucralose, Gum Arabic, Sodium Benzoate (Preserves Freshness), Calcium Disodium EDTA (to Protect Flavor), Brominated Vegetable Oil, Yellow 5.
There’s flame retardant in your Mountain Dew. That soda with the lime-green hue (and other citrus-flavored bubbly pops) won’t keep your insides fireproof, but it does contain brominated vegetable oil, a patented flame retardant for plastics that has been banned in foods throughout Europe and in Japan. Brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, which acts as an emulsifier in citrus-flavored soda drinks, is found in about 10 percent of sodas sold in the U.S. “After a few extreme soda binges – not too far from what many
gamers regularly consume – a few patients have needed medical attention for skin lesions, memory loss and nerve disorders, all symptoms of overexposure to bromine,” according to an article in Environmental News. Don’t do the Dew: It’s the Worst Diet Soda in the World!
37. Tab
12 fl oz, 0 calories, 0 g sugar
Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Caramel Color, Natural Flavors, Phosphoric Acid, Calcium Saccharin, Potassium Benzoate (To Protect Taste), Caffeine, Aspartame.
Introduced in 1963—for people keeping “tabs” on their weight—TaB was Coke’s first calorie-free soda, and the first to draw outcry because of its artificial sweetener. Between 1997 and 2000, the FDA mandated that saccharin-containing products carry a label warning consumers about the risk of cancer, due largely to the development of bladder tumors in saccharin-consuming rate. Saccharin still isn’t in the clear. One recent study funded by Purdue and the National Institute of Health showed that rats with a saccharin-rich diet gained more weight than those with high-sugar diets. Eat This, Not That!’s official stance? Avoid. By the way, sometimes, fat isn’t bad: click here to discover the essential list of the 20 Best Full-Fat Foods for Weight Loss!
36. Fresca Original Citrus
12 fl oz, 0 calories, 0 g sugar
Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Citric Acid, Concentrated Grapefruit Juice, Potassium Citrate, Potassium Sorbate, Potassium Benzoate and EDTA (to Protect Taste), Aspartame, Acesulfame Potassium, Acacia, Natural Flavors, Glycerol Ester of Rosin, Brominated Vegetable Oil, Carob Bean Gum.
I don’t know about you, but after a long day of hard work and play, I like to sit back and relax and crack open a can of Glycerol Ester Of Rosin. The wood resin is added to many fruit sodas to help the fruit-flavored oils mix better with the water. While it’s not necessarily harmful, let us repeat: you’re drinking oil and water, sold to you by Coke. Plus, this one has BVO.
35. Coca-Cola Life
12 oz, 90 calories, 24 g sugar
Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Cane Sugar, Caramel Color, Natural Flavors, Phosphoric Acid, Potassium Benzoate (To Protect Taste), Caffeine, Stevia Leaf Extract.
If you think you’re doing yourself a favor by opting for Coca-Cola’s sugar- and stevia-sweetened beverage, Coke Life, over the traditional red can, you might want to take a closer look at the nutrition label. Its natural packaging is there to distract you from the cold, hard facts: A 12-ounce can of the stuff contains 24 grams of sugar, which is especially troubling given the recent World Health Organization recommendation to reduce our daily sugar intake to about 25 grams a day to most effectively ward off obesity, heart disease, cancer and diabetes. (A regular can of Coke has 39g.) In fact, the green can packs in as much sugar as you’ll get from downing three Apple n Spice Donuts from Dunkin’ Donuts!
34. Pepsi True
12 fl. oz., 60 calories, 16 g sugar
Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Sugar, Caramel Color, Phosphoric Acid, Natural Flavor, Caffeine, Purified Stevia Leaf Extract
Pepsi’s answer to Coca-Cola Life—also made with pure sugar and Stevia Leaf extract— says it’s “all the fun you love about Pepsi with 30% less sugar than regular Pepsi.” They forgot to add it also has 100% more sugar than you should be drinking out of a can. (Although, hey, at least it has 8 grams less than Life.) Stay “true” to yourself and instead satisfy your craving with one of The 29 Best-Ever Proteins for Weight Loss!
33. Pepsi Next
12 fl oz, 60 calories, 15 g sugar
Ingredients: Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Caramel Color, Sugar, Phosphoric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Natural Flavor, Potassium Sorbate (preserves freshness), Caffeine, Sucralose, Citric Acid, Acesulfame Potassium.
If you love Pepsi True—but wish it had more High Fructose Corn Syrup–this is the soda for you!
32. RC Ten
12 fl oz., 10 calories, 3 g sugar
Ingredients: Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Caramel Color, Phosphoric Acid, Potassium Citrate, Aspartame, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Potassium Benzoate (protects Flavor), Caffeine, Citric Acid, Acesuklfame Potassium, Acacia Gum, Sucralose
Only the soda companies could blend two evils—High Fructose Corn Syrup and artificial sweeteners—and market it as a healthier choice. The Ten line does just that. “Both Ten and a zero-calorie brand are bad,” Isabel Smith, MS, RD, CDN, registered dietitian, tells Eat This, Not That!, “but for the sake of fewer bad ingredients, the zero-calorie is better.” Especially when it comes to RC: This one has more sugar than the other Tens—and caramel color is the third ingredient.
31. Dr. Pepper Ten
12 fl oz, 12 calories, 2.4 g sugar
**Ingredients: Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Caramel Color, Phosphoric Acid, Aspartame, Sodium Benzoate (preservative), Caffeine, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Acesulfame Potassium, Sodium Phosphate.
Shocker: This Ten has more than ten calories! To easily burn off any of these sodas—without spending hours in the gym—don’t miss this list of the essential 55 Best-Ever Ways to Speed Up Your Metabolism—Fast!
30. Sunkist Ten
12 fl oz., 10 calories, 2 g sugar
Ingredients: Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Malic Acid, Sodium Benzoate (preservative), Aspartame, Modified Food Starch, Natural Flavors, Acesulfame Potassium, Caffeine, Ester Gum, Yellow 6, Red 40
The artificial colors alone sunk this Sunkist. But you’re also drinking modified food starch—a catch-all term describing starches (derived from corn, wheat, potato or rice) that are modified to change their response to heat or cold and improve their texture. The starches themselves appear safe but the nondisclosure of the chemicals used in processing causes some nutritionists to question their effects on health.
29. A&W Ten
12 fl oz., 10 calories, 2 g sugar
Ingredients: Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Caramel Color, Sodium Benzoate (preservative), Natural and Artificial Flavors, Aspartame, Acesuklfame Potassium, Malic Acid, Quillaia Extract
Quillaia extract? The best (and worst) part of researching these sodas in the Eat This, Not That! Food Lab is coming across the weird ingredients soda manufacturers (in this case, Pepsi) add to their concoctions. Quillaia is a tree bark, and it helps your root beer foam up.
28. Canada Dry Ten
12 fl oz., 10 calories, 2 g sugar
Ingredients: Filtered Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Malic Acid, Sodium Benzoate (preservative), Aspartame, Natural Flavors, Acesulfame Potassium, Caramel Color.
Our moms used to give us Canada Dry Ginger Ale when we had a tummy ache. Now as adults, we get a tummy ache looking at it. Blame Canada. Their tagline is “Real Ginger, Real Taste” but the main ingredients here are carbonated water and artificial sweeteners.
27. 7-Up Ten
12 fl oz, 10 calories, 2 g sugar
Ingredients: Filtered Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Citric Acid, Potassium Citrate, Potassium Benzoate (preservative), Natural Flavors, Aspartame, Acesulfame Potassium, Calcium Disodium EDTA (to protect flavor)
Of the Tens, at least this one has no caramel color. But if you’re sipping one, you’re probably also missing some of these 25 Most Overlooked Ways to Lose Weight!
26. Pepsi Max
12 fl oz, 0 calories, 0 g sugar
Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Caramel Color, Phosphoric Acid, Aspartame, Potassium Benzoate (preserves freshness), Caffeine, Natural Flavor, Acesulfame Potassium, Citric Acid, Calcium Disodium EDTA (to protect flavor), Panax Ginseng Root Extract
Your 7-11 sold of Coke Zero, bro? Try this wannabe, which adds extra caffeine ginseng to fool dudes into thinking this is an all-natural energy drink.
25. Mello Yello Zero
Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Citric Acid, Aspartame, Sodium Benzoate And EDTA (to Protect Taste), Acacia, Potassium Citrate, Acesulfame Potassium, Caffeine, Sucrose Acetate Isobutyrate, Natural Flavors, Coconut Oil, Yellow 5.
You know when you add some Mentos to a two-liter Diet Coke and the whole thing explodes? (Don’t try that at home.) That’s thanks to the Gum Acacia in the candy, which is also in this soda—it’s a natural emulsifier. Despite it’s weird name, is probably this most natural ingredient in this artificially-colored Zero.
24. Fanta Zero
12 fl oz, 0 calories, 0 g sugar
Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Citric Acid, Potassium Citrate, Aspartame, Natural Flavors, Potassium Benzoate (To Protect Taste), Modified Food Starch, Acesulfame Potassium, Yellow 6, Glycerol Ester Of Rosin, Coconut Oil, Red 40.
Just like its full calorie cousin, Fanta Zero is an unsavory blend of oils and artificial colors. Even without its unsettling origin story—the Coca-Cola company created Fanta to profit in Germany, when Nazis forbid the importation of USA-made Coke—this would still be gross. (Speaking of sodas, don’t miss our ultimate list of the Top 32 Regular Sodas—Ranked!)
23. Diet Sunkist
12 fl oz, 0 calories, 0 sugar
Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Benzoate (preservative), Aspartame, Malic Acid, Modified Food Starch, Natural Flavors, Caffeine, Ester Gum, Acesulfame Potassium, Yellow 6, Red 40
What do you get when you combine carbonated water with aspartame and a host of hard-to-pronounce chemicals? This citrus-inspired sip. It gets its alluring orange color from Yellow 65 and Red 40. A Journal of Pediatrics study linked Yellow 5 to hyperactivity in children and Canadian researchers found Red 40 to be contaminated with known carcinogens.
22. Pibb Zero
0 calories, 0 sugar
Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Caramel Color, Phosphoric Acid, Aspartame, Potassium Sorbate and Potassium Benzoate (to protect taste), Artificial and Natural Flavors, Acesulfame Potassium, Caffeine, Monosodium Phosphate, Lactic Acid, Polyethylene Glycol.
A “spicy” cherry soda found mostly in the South—or in Coke Freestyle machines—Pibb Zero contains propylene glycol, a preservative, thickening agent, and stabilizer, also used as antifreeze to de-ice airplanes, as a plasticizer to make polyester resins, and found in electronic cigarettes. A nutritional zero.
21. Diet Barq’s Root Beer
12 fl oz, 0 calories, 0 g sugar
Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Caramel Color, Potassium Sorbate And Sodium Benzoate (To Protect Taste), Aspartame, Citric Acid, Acesulfame Potassium, Artificial And Natural Flavors, Acacia, Potassium Chloride.
As with aspartame, Eat This, Not That! also recommends you limit Acesulfame Potassium—aka Ace K—a zero-calorie sweetener that often appears with sucralose or aspartame to create a flavor closer to sugar (it’s 200 times sweeter). Although the FDA does not recognize it as a carcinogen, some experts disagree, and large doses have been shown to cause problems in the thyroid glands of rats, rabbits and dogs. It’s used here to sweeten the root beer, but you’ll also find it in Diet Pepsi, Fresca and Coke’s Zero line. For decadent fat-burners, without the guilt, don’t miss this list of the 25 Best Carbs That Uncover Your Abs!
20. Diet Mug Root Beer
12 fl oz, 0 calories, 0 g sugar
Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Caramel Color, Sodium Benzoate (preserves freshness), Aspartame, Citric Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Quillaia Extract, Calcium Disodium EDTA (to protect flavor)
As with the A&W root beer, the ingredient to worry about here is not the Quillaia tree bark, but rather the caramel color and aspartame.
19. Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry
0 calories, 0 g sugar
Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Caramel Color, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Aspartame, Sodium Benzoate (preservative), Citric Acid, Phosphoric Acid, Caffeine, Malic Acid, Sodium Phosphate, Red 40
The Cherry version of Diet Dr. Pepper is worse than the original because of the artificial color Red 40, which Canadian researchers found to be contaminated with known carcinogens.
18. Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry Vanilla
0 calories, 0 g sugar
Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Caramel Color, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Aspartame, Sodium Benzoate (preservative), Citric Acid, Phosphoric Acid, Caffeine, Malic Acid, Red 40
Like old school Cherry, the Vanilla also has Red 40—and no actual vanilla.
17. Dr. Brown’s Diet Black Cherry
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