This is just about the only study done on the long term effects of an artifical sweetener, and it came back negative. That’s not to say that 10X that over a longer time- or another artificial sweetener altogether- might not have some subtle long term bad effect. Honestly, we don’t know that anything- food, non-food, environmental, whatever- that has been introduced in the last couple of decades might not have some suble long term effect. In fact, now that humans are living longer, some things that have been part of our environment safely for say six decades of live might not turn out to have some nasty little side effects after you live to be eighty.
However, if so, any such effects or dangers are clearly rather subtle and insidious if there at all. Maybe Aspartame is dangerous if ingested @2 liters a day for 30 years. Sure. Maybe staring at a computer screen is dangerous if done for 12 hours a day over three decades.
Honestly, we can only worry about the dangers we know about.
Given how difficult it is to determine whether even prescription drugs cause cancer, I’m pretty skeptical that we have a good idea of how carcinogenic these artificial sweeteners are. I’m pretty skeptical we have a good idea how carcinogenic most things are.
3 years ago, I went deaf in one ear. While that doesn’t sound catastrophic, as often happens in sudden hearing loss cases, I also lost my balance system. Trust me – you don’t want this to happen to you.
For quite a few years prior to that I had been drinking large amounts of Diet Coke daily – probably even more than the OP. I refilled a 44 oz cup 2 - 3 times a day, and also drank about 6 more cans a day. For 3 - 4 of those years at the end, it was exclusively Caffeine-free Diet Coke.
When I lost my hearing, my ENT was concerned by the amount of Diet Coke I was drinking. She said that there was some suggestive, but unproven, link between aspartame and hearing loss. Rather than risk my other ear, I quit all Diet Coke and only drink water now.
There’s a lot of fear mongering about aspartame out there, and it’s hard to separate the truth from the ranting wails of the wackos. So of course, you have to make your own decision. I just give my case as 1 data point.
J. – who is still rebuilding his balance system 3 years later
If you’re pregnant, it’s too much caffeine. (Your username makes that possibility seem unlikely, but I figured I’d mention it anyway) If you’re pregnant, you’re supposed to keep to below 200 mg of caffeine per day, which is about 5 12-ounce glasses of Diet Pepsi (Diet Coke has slightly more caffeine). That’s less than a 2-liter bottle.
There was also a studythat suggested that diet soda consumption can lead to weight gain.
The causal link was uncertain, but it seems liinked to behavioral modification. People who drink diet drinks may think that they’re saving calories on the liquid consumption and ‘give themselves permission’ to consume more calories in other areas.
I don’t know your weight situation, but if you’re obese, you may consider a move to water.
It is probably healthier though due to other nutrients (many people are vitamin D and calcium deficient), and certainly much better than what I drank as a child and teenager (2-3 cans of regular Mountain Dew a day, mostly at meals, for which I now have a glass of milk (about the same number of calories, but not empty ones), and water otherwise). Of course, I am talking about reduced fat (or skim) milk (it is also better than sports drinks for rehydration).
If your hypothesis about the cause is correct, then I would expect people who drink lots of water to also give themselves permission to consume more calories.
What if they are only drinking because they are thirsty? I don’t drink (aside from during meals) unless I feel like it. Drinking water before a meal can also reduce the amount you eat by filling your stomach faster.
If drinking diet soda means people think they can consume more calories later, then why shouldn’t the same apply for water?
OTOH, if drinking water helps to fill the stomach, and thereby reduce the amount you can eat, why doesn’t that apply for soda?