I think I’m not alone when I say that I am addicted to Diet Coke. There really is no afternoon pick-me-up quite like it. The coolness of the can, the sound of the gas escaping when you open the lid, the tingling feeling of the bubbles on your tongue when it first hits your lips…
So you’ll understand why I feel as if my world has been flipped upside down amid reports that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a research arm of the World Health Organisation (WHO) is set to officially classify aspartame as “possibly carcinogenic”.
Look, we always knew this was a possibility. Aspartame is a chemical that is about 200 times sweeter than regular sugar, and has been used as an additive in place of sugar in various foods and drinks for the better part of the last five decades.
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It’s been so popular because, despite its sweetness, it has an almost zero calorific value, which is how popular soft drinks like Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Pepsi Max have been able to keep their calories to nil.
Even large health charities like the British Heart Foundation ranked a diet soft drink as the third ‘healthiest’ drink, above fruit juice and tea and coffee with added sugar. Cancer Research UK also previously said that the “best evidence shows that artificial sweeteners, like aspartame, do not increase the risk of cancer”.
So why the change now? Until now, no large-scale studies on the effects of aspartame had been done. The IARC findings come after it reviewed 1,300 studies on the link between aspartame and cancer. However, the findings may not be as dire as we think.
The IARC uses four possible classifications:
- Group 1 - Carcinogenic to humans
- Group 2A - Probably carcinogenic to humans
- Group 2B - Possibly carcinogenic to humans
- Group 3- Not classifiable
As aspartame currently sits in Group 2B or “possibly carcinogenic”, this means the findings haven’t been classed as a strong enough risk to put it in Group 1 or Group 2A. But this also doesn’t mean you should be filling your fridge with the stuff.
“The reason aspartame has been linked to cancer is because of the toxicity involved in the body’s processing of it,” Jessie Jones, Nutrition Coach at OriGym tells GLAMOUR. “When it’s processed by the body it produces methanol which causes direct damage to the liver. It also produces formaldehyde in this process which is directly toxic to liver cells.”
So, where does this leave us Diet Coke addicts? If you’ve been drinking the fizz for years, don’t despair, it is possible to kick the habit and even reverse the long-term effects it can have on your body.
Carcinogenic is the word for when something has the potential to cause cancer.
Aspartame has been listed as “possibly carcinogenic”, which means the evidence isn’t yet strong enough to say that it’s definitely carcinogenic. (Tobacco smoking, alcoholic beverages, and UV radiation have all been listed by the IARC in Group 1: Carcinogenic to humans, FYI).
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Aspartame is a primary ingredient in many diet soft drinks including Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Pepsi Max.
Along with diet soft drinks, aspartame is found in many grocery staples including:
- Tabletop sweeteners
- Sugar-free chewing gum
- Light yoghurts
- Nutrition bars
- Sugar-free puddings
- Light ice cream
- Sauces
- Syrups
- Condiments
If you’re worried about aspartame, you can see if it’s in a product by checking the ingredient list on the back as it should be listed under “sweeteners”.
“If you’ve been drinking Diet Coke or similar diet soft drinks for an extended period of time you’ve potentially subjected the liver and the rest of the body to this oxidative stress and toxicity. This could mean that you’re at a higher risk of cancer and other disease in the body because of damage at a cellular level,” Jones says.
“You should definitely reduce your intake and try to cut these diet fizzy drinks out altogether to minimise risk. Of course doing this alone doesn’t necessarily mean you’re completely immune, but you are removing one of the big contributors from your diet.”
However, Dr. Kelvin Fernandez, physician and healthcare educator, says that if you have been drinking diet soft drinks for years, the long-term health effects can be “complex”.
“The long-term effects on the body can vary widely depending on a number of factors, such as overall diet, lifestyle, genetic predisposition, and more. While excessive consumption could lead to health issues like obesity or tooth decay due to its acidity, a link to a higher risk of cancer is still not conclusively proven,” he adds.
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Whether or not you do stop drinking diet drinks is a personal decision. “If you're someone who enjoys a Diet Coke now and then, there's no evidence to suggest you should cut it out of your life completely,” Fernandez says. “However, it's always a good idea to enjoy it in moderation, just like any other food or drink. I've found that for my patients looking to cut back, it's often easier to gradually reduce consumption rather than stopping cold turkey. You could start by swapping out one Diet Coke a day for a glass of water or herbal tea and slowly work your way up from there.”
Jones says that there are two ways to reduce or prevent further oxidative stress in the body in order to reverse any damage caused by diet drinks and replenish the cells.
“The first is by avoiding further exposure to the contributory toxicity by cutting aspartame and other sugars out of your diet as much as possible. Then you can increase antioxidants to detox the body of any residual effects and clean up the free radicals in the body,” she suggests.
“Some examples of the best antioxidants are beta carotene and lutein. You can get these in foods like dark greens (kale, spinach) and nuts and seeds (especially pistachios which are really high in lutein). These are available in much higher doses as supplements though which can be a better idea for a more intensive detox. If you’ve been drinking Diet Coke for years and feel like you might be at risk then doing this kind of detox can be great short term whilst making those dietary changes long term.”
GLAMOUR has contacted Coca-Cola and Pepsi for comment.
