There is an ongoing debate on whether diet or regular soda is healthier. It seems like every time I open a Diet Coke, someone is there to tell me that regular Coke is better for me. I find that hard to believe because, if you have ever seen how much sugar is in a single can of Coke, it is crazy! There are nearly 10 teaspoons of sugar per Coke can! This means the sugar content in a Coke equals almost 4 Krispy Kreme donuts. In regular coke, the ingredients are carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, phosphoric acid, natural flavors and caffeine. In Diet Coke, the ingredients are carbonated water, caramel color, aspartame, phosphoric acid, potassium benzoate (to protect taste), natural flavors, citric acid and caffeine.
Studies have shown that artificial sweeteners like aspartame, which is in Diet Coke, are associated with an increased risk of obesity and metabolic conditions. It also may increase your appetite. However, this is only likely to result from very large intakes of such artificial sweeteners— close to 6 cans of Diet Coke a day. Coke, on the other hand, contains a lot of sugar that contributes to things like obesity, weight gain, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. With Diet Coke being associated with metabolic conditions and Coke being linked to diabetes, it seems like both drink options are not good. The Coca-cola company then introduced Coke Zero in 2005 as a sugar free option. The difference between Coke Zero Sugar and Diet Coke would be the amount of caffeine each drink contains, but they also have very different tastes to them. Some describe Coke Zero Sugar as looking and tasting more like Coke’s original taste, while Diet Coke has a different blend of flavors which give it a lighter taste.
I interviewed some people with different preferences, and here’s what they had to say. I asked Karen Reed-Norwall if she preferred Diet Coke over regular Coke.
“Diet Coke,” Reed-Norwall said. “Mostly because of the sugar. It’s just too much for me. I think it’s like so much that it’s like if I had that I wouldn’t be able to have any cookies or anything and I prefer to eat cookies,” Reed-Norwall said.
I also asked Reed-Norwall if she drinks Diet Coke because of the taste or for health reasons.
“[I drink] Diet Coke mostly for the taste. When I first had it, I thought it tasted really gross because I was always drinking Coke, and then I switch over to Diet Coke because I didn’t want as much sugar, and now I am just so used to it that I think it tastes good,” Reed-Norwall said.
When I asked Piper Benaim, she had a different opinion. Benaim said she prefers regular Coke.
“I feel like Diet Coke is just plain and with regular Coke their is more flavor. Its more fizzley, more bubbly, you know— that pop of excitement,” said Benaim
It seems like you can’t compare the sodas based on their taste because people prefer the different tastes. Both sodas aren’t the best for your health and I wouldn’t recommend drinking more than one of either soda a day. I think that when choosing which one to drink, Diet Coke is a better choice if you are trying to eat those cookies at the end of the day, like Reed-Norwall said. However, Coke is a good option if you are wanting something sweet and refreshing. Personally, I like the taste of Diet Coke better and I like the fact that it doesn’t have the same amount of sugar as 4 Krispy Kreme donuts, so I will be sticking to drinking Diet Coke.
