Composition Of Diet Soda

Diet sodas are sugar-free, artificially sweetened, carbonate drinks marketed towards people who need to reduce sugar use, want to lose weight to stay fit.

Different artificial sweeteners are utilized to enhance flavour of diet soda and some even use sugar with other artificial sweeteners. Opinion is of many types about the taste of these drinks. The Genral Opinion is that Sugar drink is the best in terms of taste. Diet drinks leave a bitter taste after use as per many consumers. Others feel that diet soda has no unpleasant aftertaste and that drinks sweetened by high fructose corn syrup an over-sweet aftertaste.

Cyclamates were the first artificial sweeteners. Many had the opinion that these sodas had a better taste than diet sodasthat followed. Around 1970 the FDA freezed cyclamates in the US. Cancer in lab animals was caused by them. Though the information is known but cyclamates are still used in some countries all over the world, especially in diet soda.

Then American producers began using saccharin. A chemical was founded in saccharin aftertaste by the consumers. Coca-Cola produced Tab by giving a small amount of sugar. During 1977, the FDA was asked to put a ban on saccharin as a carcinogen, but a freeze was put on the ban while studies were finished. This was lifted in 1991, but nearly every diet soda had shifted to using aspartame which is now the most common sweetener.

Two new sweeteners are available in the market, sucralose called Splenda and Sunett or Ace K used with small amounts of aspartame or artificial sweeteners. Smaller beverage producers use these sodas.Currently aspartame is believed by the users to be the cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome type illnesses.

Taste of drinks with these sweeteners are more like natural sugar.The long-term risks of using artificial sweeteners are not yet known and it’s taste is also not good so the critics showed their dissatisfaction for it.

Seriousness about health from sugar substitutes and extra intake of caffeine has taken crediblity out of diet soda as a weight loss tool under a cloud.

Consumers who drink large amounts of regular soda may have weight loss after switching to diet soda.  But animal studies have shown that artificial sweeteners cause weight gain. The sweetness of the taste induces an insulin response, causing blood sugar to store in tissues but because blood sugar does not increase with artificial sugars, hypoglycemia can occur and people eat more at the next meal. After time rats given sweeteners has increased caloric consumption causing weight and fat gain. 

So, the jury on how helpful diet soda is to losing weight is still out.