Ok, I’ve heard that although Pepsi Max and other similar sodas have no suger, they contain a lot of other stuff that’s bad for you. Is that true?
What do you mean by “similar sodas”? IIRC, Pepsi Max is just Diet Pepsi with extra caffeine. There are some sodas with high caffeine content and sugar, like Jolt, and others with normal caffeine content and no sugar, like Diet Pepsi.
Assuming you’re talking about sodas with artificial sweeteners… IANAD, but what I’ve heard is that you only need to worry about aspartame if you’re a phenylketonuric (sp?), and the other sweeteners are fine.
Ok, that’s what I’m talking about. I didn’t understand those two words though…
Phenylketonurics are people who can’t metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine. Phenylketonuria is a genetic disorder. You almost certainly don’t have it if you don’t know what it is.
Aspartame is the generic name for NutraSweet.
I’m going to start this out by saying that I think the fears that some people have about artificial sweeteners are overblown- after all, we KNOW that sugar causes tooth decay and help to cause obesity, which are both serious problems- I doubt that the very small amounts of artificial sweeteners in a can of Diet Pepsi are going to do as much harm as the sugars in the Regular.
As for the OP- Looking at the can of diet pepsi, it contains the following ingredients:
Carbonated Water, Caramel Color, Aspartame, Phosphoric Acid, Potassium Benzoate, Caffeine, Citric Acid, and Natural Flavors.
Aspartame = Nutrisweet, which is one of three major artificial sweeteners used in the US, the others being Splenda (sucralose), which is found in Diet Rite soda, and Saccarin, which is in the Pink packets that you can put in your coffee. Saccarin, in EXTREMELY high doses, was shown to cause cancer in rats, but any link to human cancers is at best, debateable.
The other ingredients are found in pretty much any soda, and unless you have a heart condition (caffeine) or high blood pressure (sodium) probably aren’t an issue for most people. I imagine the Acid could cause heartburn in some people, but thats hardly life threatening, in general.
Some diet sodas also use acesulfame potassium (ace-K) as a sweetener. Pepsi One uses a blend of ace-K and aspartame. There are some vague rumors that ace-K might increase the risk of cancer, as noted on this biased site.