Are diet drinks safe to consume?
A guest blog written by Loryn Smith. Are Diet drinks safe?
There’s a lot of mixed messaging out there regarding diet drinks. The main reason is because of the ingredient “aspartame” which is an artificial sweetener.
The biggest claim I’ve seen is “aspartame gives you cancer”
So let’s look at the facts. And the fact is –
No it doesn’t give you cancer
This claim comes from research ONLY performed on rats, which means it does not translate over to humans.
This research paper (as seen below) did an assessment on a bunch of human research of health & aspartame.
The conclusion – there is not enough evidence, and no direct negative health outcomes were discovered.
Here is the link the the paper: Association of Low- and No-Calorie Sweetened Beverages as a Replacement for Sugar-Sweetened Beverages With Body Weight and Cardiometabolic Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
The thing is, I have no issues with diet drinks! Culture likes to demonise foods and drinks, which they’ve done with artificial sweeteners. The question for me is, are you having diet drinks ALONGSIDE your nutritious foods or REPLACING nutritious foods?
Let’s sum this up:
– Studies in rats show that aspartame can be cancerous
– There are no human studies to prove that aspartame (and other diet drinks) are cancerous
– Diet drinks in moderation, alongside a balanced diet are completely safe and provides an enjoyable diet!
– Diet drinks are not harmful. They are completely safe (and enjoyable!) to drink in moderation
Loryn Smith
Food Relationship Dietitian (APD)
A big thank you from REAL Health & Nutrition to Loryn!
Loryn is an amazing Dietitian with a strong passion for supporting people with their relationship with food and allowing for aan approach to health that incorporates both the mental and physical.
If you would like to find more about Loryn (and her cool email newsletter) she can be contacted via
– Email: [email protected]
– Website & newsletter: https://bio.site/lorynsmith
Thanks Loryn!
