Diet soft drink

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Diet Coke is a popular diet soft drink

Diet soft drink, or diet soda is the name for a soft drink that uses an artificial sweetener, instead of sugar. Usually, these drinks contain carbon dioxide. They usually do not contain alcohol. Sometimes, they use the qualifier 'light' or 'lite' in the name. Usually, they are refreshments. Because sugar has been replaced with another sweetener, they are targeted at health-conscious people, athletes, or people want to lose weight. Diabetics also use them.

The idea behind an artificial sweetener is to replace sugar. The sweetener should taste like sugar, but have fewer calories. Today,the artificial sweeteners most used include aspartame, saccharin, cyclamates, sucralose, and stevia. Each of them has benefits and drawbacks. The big problem with artificial sweetening is that the taste is often noticeably different than sucrose (regular sugar). Even after decades of research, no artificial sweetener "tastes like" sugar. Most sweeteners have a marked aftertaste, often described as "bitter" or "metallic". The perception of this aftertaste has been studied intensively. It appears to be based on genetic factors that vary from person to person.

In recent years, consumers wanted more "natural" products. They were also afraid of possible health effects of artificial sweeteners. These reasons have increased the demand for stevia-based sweeteners; manufacturers were also driven to develop new phytochemicals.

History

The beginning of the diet soda or refreshment era was in 1952, when Kirsch Bottling in Brooklyn, New York launched a sugar free ginger ale called No-Cal. It was designed for diabetics, not dieters, and distribution remained local. Royal Crown Cola placed an announcement in an Atlanta newspaper in 1958 announcing a diet soda product, Diet Rite. In 1962, Dr Pepper released a diet(etic) version of its soda, although it sold slowly due to the misconception that it was meant solely for diabetic consumption. In 1963, the Coca-Cola Company joined the diet soda market with Tab, which proved to be a huge success. Tab was originally sweetened with cyclamates and saccharin.

Tab, Diet Rite, and Fresca (a grapefruit-flavored soda introduced by Coca-Cola) were the only brand-name diet refreshments on the market until Pepsi released Diet Pepsi in the 1960s (initially as Patio Diet Cola). Diet 7 Up was also released in 1963 under the name Like. It was discontinued in 1969 due to the US government ban of cyclamate sweetener. After reformulation, it was reintroduced as Diet 7 Up in 1970. It was renamed Sugar Free 7 Up in 1973 then back to Diet 7 Up in 1979. Coca-Cola countered by releasing Diet Coke in 1982. After the release of Diet Coke, Tab took a backseat on the Coca-Cola production lines; Diet Coke could be more easily identified by consumers as associated with Coca-Cola than Tab. Additionally, a study was released claiming that saccharin was a possible carcinogen, leading to Coca-Cola's decision to decrease production of Tab. Prompted by the rising popularity of soft drinks, in the mid-1980s some of those in the alcohol industry began to follow their lead with some beer companies putting sugar-free beer on the market.

By the early 1990s, a wide array of different companies had their own diet refreshments on supermarket shelves. Tab made a comeback during the late 1990s, after new studies demonstrated that saccharin is not an important factor in the risk of cancer. Nevertheless, the Coca-Cola Company has maintained its 1984 reformulation, replacing some of the saccharin in Tab with NutraSweet.

By 2002, some soda companies had diversified to include such flavors as vanilla and lemon among their products, and diet sodas were soon being produced with those flavors as well (see Diet Vanilla Coke, Diet Pepsi Vanilla). By 2004, several alcohol companies had released sugar-free or "diet" alcoholic products too.

Health concerns

There are possible health concerns of sugar substitutes and caffeine overuse. Also, the effectiveness of diet soda as a weight loss tool should also be considered.

Changing the food energy intake from one food will not necessarily change a person's overall food energy intake, or cause a person to lose weight. One study, at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, reported by Sharon Fowler at the ADA annual meeting, actually suggested the opposite, where consumption of diet soda was correlated with weight gain. While Fowler did suggest that the undelivered expected calories from diet soda may stimulate the appetite, the correlation does not prove that consumption of diet soda caused the weight gain. The ADA has yet to issue an updated policy concerning diet soda.

An independent study by researchers with the Framingham Heart Study in Massachusetts, has turned up results which indicate that the consumption of diet soda correlates with increased metabolic syndrome. Of the 9,000 males and females studied, findings stated that 48% of the subjects were at higher risk for weight gain and elevated blood sugar. The researchers also acknowledged that diet soda drinkers were less likely to consume healthy foods, and that drinking diet soda flavored with artificial sweeteners more than likely increases cravings for sugar flavored sweets.

A preliminary abstract presented by the University of Miami's Hannah Gardener linked daily consumption of diet soda to a 61% higher incidence of "vascular events" such as strokes and heart attacks, although Gardener acknowledged that these results could not be conclusively linked to harmful effects of diet soda itself, and may be the result of other behaviors. The author stated confirmation was required prior to drawing conclusions. These studies were published as abstracts and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal

Among individuals who drink several regular sodas per day, diet soda may be a better choice, according to a website on dieting. Studies have also indicated that body mass gain is an unlikely consequence of artificial sweetener consumption.

Animal studies suggest that artificial sweeteners cause body weight gain, theoretically because of a faulty insulin response, at least in cattle and rats. Rats given sweeteners have steadily increased caloric intake, increased body weight, and increased adiposity (fatness). Adding saccharin to the food of calves increases their body weight as well.

Nomenclature

In some countries outside the United States and Canada, the term "light" is often used instead of "diet".

Reduced-calorie soda

In an effort to cash in on the surging popularity of low-carbohydrate diets, in 2004 both Coca-Cola and Pepsico released reduced-calorie versions of their flagship sodas that contain approximately half the sugar of the regular version. The Pepsi variant, Pepsi Edge, is sweetened with sucralose and corn syrup. The sweetening of the Coca-Cola variant, Coca-Cola C2, is a combination of corn syrup, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose. Pepsi discontinued Edge in 2005, citing lackluster sales. Coca-Cola soon followed suit.

Half the sugar of a can of regular cola is still more sugar than many people on popular low-carbohydrate diets are permitted to have in a day. It is possible that these sodas are targeted, instead, at so-called "carb-conscious consumers" who are paying attention to, but not trying to drastically reduce, their carbohydrate intake.