First 10 minutes- This claim can be denied per the comment that "Diet drinks are less acidic, but still a problem" for dental erosion. Phosphoric acid claim may be denied only partially since sugar-free soft drinks often have as high erosive potential as sugar-containing soft drinks but drinking one can of diet coke is no more acidic than drinking orange juice. By comparison, both diet and regular sodas are only slightly less acidic than stomach acid which has a pH of approximately 1.5 to 3.5 and strength of 0.5 percent, or 5,000 parts per million. Per Academy of General Dentistry, "a tooth immersed in Regular Coke for 48 hours would have 6% of its mass dissolved away, while that same tooth immersed in Diet Coke would lose “only” 1.5% of its mass" and also per Murphy, phosphoric acid in diet does not appear to cause loss of bone mass at least in animals so it's unlikely to cause problems for human bones when drinking one can of Diet Coke. This denial is only for drinking one can of Diet Coke and please take into account qualified dentist advise regarding frequent diet soda consumption in relation to demineralization, or loss of tooth material beginning at a pH of 5.5, although under certain conditions, may even start at a higher pH and research evidence which shows that incessant consumption of diet or regular soda will eventually place us at increased risk for dental decay.
"Hysteria around the aspartame in diet drinks is not justified" by the evidence. Aspartame is a low-calorie sweetener made primarily of two amino acids; aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Aspartame in Diet Coke is one of the most thoroughly researched ingredients in use with more than 200 studies confirming its safety. However, in the review of Dr Walton on 164 studies which were felt to have relevance to human safety questions, 83 (92%) identified one or more problems with aspartame out of 90 non-industry-sponsored (independent) studies. Of the 74 aspartame industry-sponsored studies, all 74 (100%) claimed that no problems were found with aspartame. The FDA has continued to support its use as a "general purpose sweetener in food."
Biological effects: "In the body, aspartame is broken down into phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol. Methanol can be toxic in high amounts, but the amounts that result from the breakdown of aspartame is lower than with many “natural” foods. For example, drinking a liter of diet soda would lead to consumption of 55 milligrams (mg) of methanol, as compared to as much as 680 mg of methanol from a liter of fruit juice.
Phenylalanine and aspartic acid are amino acids and are naturally present in many foods that contain protein. They do not cause health problems in most people. However people with the rare disease phenylketonuria need to restrict their intake of phenylalanine, one of the components of aspartame, because their bodies cannot break it down and so are usually counseled to avoid aspartame."
20 minutes- The claim 'this can trigger insulin' is false since research shows that in healthy humans, the ingestion of sucrose, but not acesulfame-K, aspartame, cyclamate, or saccharin (at moderate doses), increased blood glucose and insulin over a 2-h period. A single, oral, or i.g. dose of sucralose, aspartame or acesulfame-K also did not modify plasma concentrations of GLP-1 and peptide YY (peptide YY is also secreted by L-cells and reduces hunger).
However, artificial sweeteners produce counterintuitive effect of inducing metabolic derangements per Susan Swithers of Purdue University but the evidence is mixed ( correlation does not imply causation).
Recent data from humans and rodent models have provided little support for artificially sweetened beverages in promoting weight loss or preventing negative health outcomes such as Type 2 Diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular events. Instead, a number of studies suggest people who regularly consume artificially sweetened beverages are at increased risk compared with those that do not consume artificially sweetened beverages; with the magnitude of the increased risks similar to those associated with sugar-sweetened beverages.
It appears that there may be some cause for concern whether artificial sweeteners cause problems by disrupting the gut bacteria which needs to be further studied. Artificial sweeteners do not satisfy our biological sugar cravings in the same manner as sugar, and could therefore lead to increased food intake but the evidence again is mixed. Consuming aspartame-sweetened carbonated mineral water produces a short-term increase in subjective appetite. Consumption of diet soda at least daily was associated with significantly greater risks of select incident metabolic syndrome components and type 2 diabetes although these observational data cannot establish causality. A recent study corroborates the association between increased incidence of type 2 diabetes and high consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks in European adults.
One explanation which is not yet researched may be that as the body gets used to experiencing the sweet flavor of diet soda without absorbing any calories, it might begin to forget that foods containing real sugar and other carbohydrates do deliver calories and researchers are still trying to find out the link between zero-calorie soda and weight gain.
40 minutes- The claim 'can cause addiction' is partially false since a can of Diet Coke contains three to four times less caffeine (28 mg to 76 mg) than a small Starbucks coffee. Moderate caffeine consumption, which, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration equals 100 to 200 mg per day, may cause side effects such as jitteriness, sleeplessness, elevated blood pressure, increased heart rate, dehydration, frequent urination or dependence. People who ingest caffeine daily may become dependent and experience withdrawal symptoms, such as irritability, headache or fatigue, if they suddenly cease consumption.
Factors besides caffeine are likely at work here since research suggests that the artificial sweeteners in diet soda (such as aspartame) may prompt people to keep refilling their glass because artificial sugars don't produce satiety like the real sugars. In a 2008 study, for instance, the brains of women who drank water that was alternately sweetened with sugar and Splenda showed the difference through functional MRI (fMRI) brain scans which revealed that even though both drinks were highlighted in the brain's reward system, the sugar did so more completely. "In other words, artificial sweeteners may spur drinkers or their brains to keep chasing a "high" that diet soda keeps forever just out of reach. It's not clear that this teasing effect can lead to dependence, but it's a possibility."
One of the researchers of the study Dr. Martin P. Paulus, MD, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California San Diego says "Artificial sweeteners have positive reinforcing effects-meaning humans will work for it, like for other foods, alcohol, and even drugs of abuse. Whenever you have that, there is a potential that a subgroup of people will have a chance of getting addicted. There is no clear-cut evidence of biochemical dependence on diet soda, but my sense is that certainly people do become habituated to diet soda and dependent upon it." There is some speculation largely unconfirmed, as of yet that diet sodas have subtle effects on insulin and blood-sugar levels that trigger hunger and food cravings and influence how and what one eats. Experts also say diet soda and the artificial sweeteners it contains can make some people psychologically and even physically dependent on it in ways that mimic more serious addictions and unlike sugared soda, which will make you gain weight if you drink too much of it.
60 minutes and beyond-The claim 'provides no nourishment' is partially false since when it comes to meeting daily water and hydration needs, all beverages, including caffeinated and non-caffeinated beverages, are hydrating. This can be juice, soft drinks, tea, milk, water and coffee.
There is no convincing evidence that caffeine leads to dehydration, however caffeine is a mild diuretic per Dr. Ann Grandjean. The ranges of caffeine in Diet coke vary from a minimum of 28 mg (7.5 fl oz can) to 76 mg (20.5 fl oz can) while research shows an increase in urine volume only at the 360 mg dose of caffeine.
