Eat This, Not that -- The Truth about Diet Soda

• Just because diet soda is low in calories doesn't mean it can't lead to weight gain. It may have only 5 calories or less per serving, but emerging research suggests that consuming sugary-tasting beverages - even if they're artificially sweetened - may lead to a high preference for sweetness overall. That means sweeter (and more caloric) cereal, bread, dessert - everything.
• Guzzling these drinks all day long forces out the healthy beverages you need. Diet soda is 100 percent nutrition free, and again, it's just as important to actively drink the good stuff as it is to avoid that bad stuff. So 1 diet soda a day is fine, but if you're downing 5 or 6 cans, that means you're limiting your intake of healthful beverages, particularly water and tea.
• There remain some concerns over aspartame, the low-calorie chemical used to give diet sodas their flavor. Aspartame is 180 times sweeter than sugar, and some researchers claim to have linked it to brain tumors and lymphoma. The FDA maintains that the sweetener is safe, but reported side effects include dizziness, headaches, diarrhea, memory loss, and mood changes. Bottom line: Diet soda does you no good, and it might just be doing you wrong.