The community of beneficial bacteria in your digestive system, known as the gut microbiome, may be adversely affected by the artificial sweeteners found in diet drinks, according to some studies. It can impact the diversity and amount of good bacteria in your stomach.

Numerous aspects of health, such as immune function, nutrient absorption, heart health, and others, are greatly affected by the gut microbiome. One short study including 7 people found that the artificial sweetener saccharin impacted blood sugar control and led to gut bacteria imbalances in 57% of participants. A further study on animals found that the makeup of the gut microbiome in mice was adversely impacted by acesulfame K (Ace-K), another type of artificial sweetener found in some varieties of diet soda.

Although diet soda doesn't have as much sugar as regular soda, it is still quite acidic and might harm your smile if you drink a lot of it frequently.

Regular and diet Coke had a substantial impact on the tooth enamel's surface roughness, according to a test-tube study, which suggests that both can cause tooth erosion. Another study found that both regular and diet soft drinks' acidity might harm the enamel's surface, causing erosion. But keep in mind that tooth enamel damage caused by acidity is not the same as a higher risk of cavities caused by sugar content. According to one research, children's dental cavities are not caused by diet Coke. Additionally, a study conducted on adolescents revealed that regular intake of carbonated soft drinks was linked to bad eating patterns and worse dental health. However, this might be due to the association between soft drink intake and other bad eating habits and poor dental health in general.

Many servings of diet Coke used each day may give some people headaches. This may be because of aspartame or another artificial sweetener that is included in diet soda.

When taken in large amounts, aspartame has been found to have a number of negative side effects. Some possible side effects are headaches, migraines, and irritability. Caffeine, which may be included in some diet sodas, has also been linked in some studies to headaches, but the evidence is conflicting. According to one research including 115 children, eliminating certain trigger foods from the diet, such as aspartame and caffeine, helped almost 87% of participants with their headaches.

Diet Coke contains a number of substances that may have a harmful impact on bone health and cause bone loss. Caffeine and phosphoric acid are two examples of these substances.

It's interesting to note that one research found that women who drank regular and diet cola were more likely to have lower bone mineral density, which increases the risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures. Another study involving more than 17,000 adults discovered that people who regularly drank soft drinks had a greater risk of bone fractures over the course of five years. Keep in mind that this study didn't explicitly examine the relationship between diet soft drinks and bone fractures. According to certain studies, excessive phosphorus consumption may have a negative impact on bone health. Additionally, a large study in postmenopausal women found a 14% increased risk of hip fracture with each daily serving of soda, including regular and diet soda.

People who routinely consume diet Coke have a longer-term increased risk of developing cardiac issues, according to many observational studies.

According to a study conducted on 59,614 women, drinking at least 2 diet beverages daily increased the chance of developing heart issues and dying from heart disease over a nine-year period. Older research has suggested that drinking soda, whether regular or diet, may raise the risk of stroke. Additionally, diet Coke has been linked to an increased risk of metabolic syndrome, a group of diseases that can raise your risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. Remember that while these research suggests a link between consuming diet soda and certain cardiac issues, further study is required to determine whether and how other factors may also be at play.

According to some studies, diet soda's artificial sweeteners may have the same effect on the food reward pathway in the brain as regular sugar, which might boost the desire to eat intake.

Researchers have also suggested that artificial sweeteners can increase sugar cravings and dependence since they are significantly sweeter than regular sugar, making it harder to lower your intake. A recent study from the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine suggests that diet drinks containing the artificial sweetener sucralose may actually hinder dieters by triggering more intense food cravings in the brain than sugar-sweetened beverages. It is currently unknown if and how these phenomena affect weight gain. However, there is conflicting evidence on this subject, requiring more research on diet soda and sugar cravings.

Researchers' findings on the topic of diet soda consumption and weight gain are conflicting. According to one research of 749 older adults, those who frequently drank diet Coke tended to experience greater increases in belly fat over a 9-year period than those who didn't. Another study with 2,126 participants revealed that having at least one soft drink daily was linked to an increased chance of developing metabolic syndrome. Further evidence from the Journal of the American Geriatric Society showed that added diet soda intake is associated with added inches around your waist.

On the other hand, some studies have not discovered a link between artificial sweeteners or diet drinks and body weight. In addition, other studies have shown that diet soda, particularly when used in place of sugar-sweetened beverages like soda, may actually cause weight loss and a reduction in appetite. The connection between diet soda consumption and body weight requires a lot more study.

Despite having no calories or carbs, diet soda has been linked in certain studies to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes. In fact , a 7-year research involving over 2,000 men found a connection between diet soda use on a daily basis and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

In a similar manner, one research involving 61,400 women revealed a link between long-term type 2 diabetes risk and regular use of artificial sweeteners. According to a different study, type 2 diabetics who used artificial sweeteners had a higher risk of developing insulin resistance. Similarly, one recent study showed that women who drank one 12-ounce diet soda had a 33% increased risk of type 2 diabetes, and women who drank one 20-ounce soda had a 66% increased risk.