Switching to diet soda from regular soda may help limit your sugar intake with diabetes. Diet sodas contain artificial sweeteners, which shouldn’t affect your blood sugar. However, they may increase insulin resistance, though none of the evidence is conclusive.

While eating sugar doesn’t cause either type of diabetes, keeping tabs on carbohydrate and sugar intake is an important part of managing both types.

It’s also important for maintaining a healthy weight, especially because being overweight or having obesity is linked to the development of type 2 diabetes.

Eating highly processed foods that are high in sugar, unhealthy fats, and empty calories increases your chance of gaining excess weight. So does drinking sugary drinks. For this reason, you might choose to drink diet soda instead.

Even though they contain no sugar, diet sodas are usually sweetened with artificial sweeteners. They may also contain natural or artificial flavors, coloring agents, acids, preservatives, and caffeine.

This article reviews the research on diet soda and whether it’s safe to drink when you’re living with diabetes.

At one time, there was much debate over the safety of artificial sweeteners. Many feared that these sweeteners caused certain types of cancer.

Diet sodas commonly contain aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose, which have all been Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved.

Saccharin

Saccharin (Sweet and Low, Sweet Twin, Sweet’N Low, and Necta Sweet) is about 300 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar), so tiny amounts are used to sweeten foods and beverages.

Research performed in the 1970s suggested that the artificial sweetener saccharin was linked to bladder cancer in male rats. Research in later years found these results not to be applicable to humans.

Nowadays, the National Cancer Institute and the FDA, among many other regulatory and professional organizations, consider the sweetener safe.

The average person ingests less than 1 ounce of saccharin in a year.

Learn more about saccharin here.

Aspartame and sucralose

Aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal, Sugar Twin) is a low calorie sweetener that’s 180 to 200 times sweeter than sugar and is often used as a sugar substitute.

Aspartame gained clearance for use in 1974, entering the market in 1981 as a sugar replacement.

Made of two naturally occurring amino acids, aspartame has no calories or carbs and doesn’t affect blood glucose levels. It breaks down in the body and is not stored.

That said, some researchers believe more research is needed to make sure that aspartame doesn’t worsen type 2 diabetes.

The FDA regulates artificial sweeteners as food additives. It reviews and approves artificial sweeteners before they can be sold. Some food additives are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) and have the FDA’s approval.

The acceptable daily intake (ADI) is the level of intake considered safe. For an adult weighing 150 pounds, the ADI of aspartame is 20 12-ounce soft drinks or 97 packets of no-calorie sweeteners such as aspartame.

Like other sweeteners in diet soda, sucralose (Splenda) is not believed to raise blood sugar. However, scientists agree that more studies are necessary to verify this, as some research has shown conflicting results.

Similar conclusions have been reached regarding other sweeteners such as neotame and advantame.

When it comes to dietary counseling for type 2 diabetes, doctors often suggest switching to diet soda. Generally, it’s accepted that soda with artificial sweeteners doesn’t raise blood sugar.

It’s also important to note that artificial sweeteners used in diet soda may affect people differently due to various factors, such as your weight and the bacteria in your gut. Research shows that the artificial sweetener acesulfame-potassium (Ace-K) might be associated with weight gain and negative changes in the gut microbiome.

That said, if you choose to drink diet soda and you have diabetes, you’ll probably be OK. That said, it’s a good idea to drink it in moderation while staying in close contact with your doctor and monitoring your health.

Note that some researchers have suggested that drinking diet sodas may actually lead to low blood sugar due to an imbalance in insulin secretion when a sweet taste is present without a corresponding rise in blood sugar levels. However, the results of research on this concern have also been inconclusive.

Your pancreas, a gland situated behind your stomach, produces a hormone called insulin. This hormone is responsible for allowing your body to move glucose (sugar) from the bloodstream into cells, which then lowers blood sugar levels. Once glucose is in your cell, your body stores it to be used for energy later or breaks it down for immediate energy.

Having high insulin sensitivity is good because it means your body can process insulin well. Once this ability decreases, you can develop insulin resistance, which is a risk factor for diabetes.

With type 1 diabetes, you cannot produce insulin. With type 2 diabetes, your body cannot process insulin well or can’t make enough of it.

There’s some research to suggest that artificial sweeteners in diet soda may actually decrease insulin sensitivity and increase your insulin resistance in people with type 2 diabetes. That said, more study is needed to confirm this.

While diet soda may not significantly affect your blood sugar, it may have other risks when it comes to diabetes.

For example, a 2018 study found that drinking more four cans of diet soda per week is associated with more than two-fold risk of diabetic eye complications such as diabetic retinopathy.

In addition, despite the common belief that switching to artificially sweetened beverages might reduce the chance of developing diabetes for those who don’t have the condition, research shows that this is also not necessarily the case. This cannot be ruled as a risk factor, but neither can it be fully confirmed.

While water is the top recommendation for hydration, most people prefer drinks with some flavor added in. If you prefer not to reach for a diet soda, there are several great options to choose from instead.

The American Diabetes Association recommends drinking water, unsweetened iced or hot tea, and sparkling or infused water, which similarly have no calories and few nutrients.

Although they contain carbohydrates, milk and 100% fruit juices can be better choices when you consider the nutrients they provide. However, be sure to limit fruit juices due to their high natural sugar content.

Generally, diet soda consumption for adults only becomes problematic when the quantity consumed is very excessive. If the beverages are caffeinated, this can lead to higher caffeine intake.

Replacing all water and dairy or 100% juice with diet soda in the diet can lead to missing essential nutrients.

When in doubt, try fruit-infused water. You can add fruit (especially berries), cucumbers, lemon, and herbs (like basil and mint) into your water. Sparkling water is also a good option, as long as it’s carbohydrate- and calorie-free.

What 3 drinks should diabetics avoid?

Generally speaking, when you’re living with diabetes, you should avoid regularly-sweetened soda and sweetened energy drinks.

Fruit juice provides more nutrients than other options, and depending on your individualized diabetes care plan, you may be able to occasionally enjoy a half-cup serving of fruit juice. Talk with your doctor or registered dietitian for more guidance.

Learn more about what you can drink with diabetes.

Can diabetics drink Coke Zero?

If you are living with diabetes, you can drink Coke Zero, along with any other sugar-free beverages you enjoy. That said, it’s always a good idea to drink diet sodas like Coke Zero in moderation.

As much as possible, choose water as your go-to beverage.

Reducing your sugar intake is a positive step whether you’re trying to lose weight or manage diabetes. Switching to diet soda may help you meet your goal.

Drinking a zero-calorie beverage may be a better option than the sugared variety, and there are many acceptable artificial sweetener choices available.

Be mindful of your eating habits, physical activity, and beverage choices. This will help you better manage your blood glucose levels.