Costco is one of my favorite places to spend an evening. I love walking the aisles to see which new, fancy kitchen gadgets they're offering, browsing the book section to see what kind of propaganda is selling these days, and hunting down the deal of the week in the hypothermia-inducing produce section.
But tonight was a different story.
All was going splendidly and well until the man in front of me stopped to load up not one, not two, not three, but four cases of Diet Coke. I'm aware that over half of Americans — 63%, according to the CDC — drink soda daily.
But tonight, the humanity of that statistic hit me hard. I saw a 40-year-old man, presumably named Chad, stockpiling a beverage that wages war against health and wellness.
At first, the Running On Butter judgment scale was at an 11/10 in disapproval against Chad's decision to purchase Diet Coke as if it were oxygen. But in about two seconds, my initial judgment took a backseat to a different emotion: sadness.
My heart breaks for Chad because he is a victim of a government and medical establishment that does not give a lick as to what kind of food or beverage he consumes.
Rather than confronting Chad with love in truth in the aisles of Costco, I chose to write a blog post in hopes that one day, hopefully soon, Chad will read this and flee from the disease-inducing drink that is Diet Coke and know that a life without Diet Coke is the more abundant life.
Diet Coke's Sugar-Free Allure
Diet Coke's primary appeal is its ostensible metabolic neutrality. Your doctor may have recommended it to you because it appears to be better than conventional Coke. No calories, no sugar, no problem. This, however, is an egregiously dishonest way to view food and beverages.
Some of the most harmful ingredients Americans ingest don't contain any calories or sugar. This is because these ingredients aren't food but rather man-made chemicals.
In Diet Coke, aspartame is the nightmare-dressed-like-a-daydream chemical that most people — including the majority of doctors and dieticians — believe to be an innocent sweetener. Because most believe it doesn't have a drastic effect on blood sugar or insulin levels, aspartame is often recommended.
However, new research has shown that aspartame and its artificial sweetener relatives may worsen insulin sensitivity through a number of mechanisms, such as increasing oxidative stress and altering the gut microbiome.
But frankly, the blood sugar debate isn't what's most worrying. The most concerning attribute of aspartame is its close relationship with cancer.
The Mounting Cancer-Aspartame Evidence
In one 2023 study published in the International Journal of Cancer, researchers correlated aspartame consumption with an increased prevalence of stomach cancer.
In a different study published in Environmental Health, researchers reported a causal relationship between aspartame and cancer. The study, which used rodents as the test subjects, "confirm[ed] the very worrisome finding that prenatal exposure to aspartame increases cancer risk in rodent offspring."
Considering many pregnant women consume Diet Coke, this report should be sobering.
Another 2022 report of over 100,000 people found that aspartame consumption was associated with increased cancer risk. Moreover, The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies aspartame as "possibly carcinogenic to humans."
There are dozens more studies with similar findings: aspartame is likely contributing to or causing cancer.
Other Offenders
In addition to aspartame, Diet Coke contains three other ingredients incompatible with health.
Caramel Color: Giving Diet Coke its brown appearance, caramel color is also linked to cancer and impairs the immune system.
Potassium Benzoate: Used as a preservative, potassium benzoate is a cellular toxin.
Synthetic Caffeine: As I've written before, Industrial Chinese-made synthetic caffeine accelerates aging.
Goodbye to Diet Coke, Hello Vitality!
The only drinks I consume habitually are water, coffee, and milk. But if you're looking for alternatives to soda, check out the list below. They're by no means nutritional powerhouses, but they're acceptable.
I understand that, like Chad, millions enjoy the pop of a Diet Coke can. But with science and love in mind, it would be wrong for me to remain agnostic towards such a drink. You can accuse me of ruining your fun, but last time I checked, cancer therapy isn't fun.