“It’s a five-can day today,” my friend Naomi Stern tells me over the phone. We both know what she means — in fact I can almost hear the click-hiss of her first Diet Coke of the morning. And she’s not unique: last year Britons on average guzzled 97.3 litres of carbonated drinks each, a third of them sugar-free. According to the analysts Zenith International, Diet Coke is the bestseller in that market “by some margin”.
Diet Coke, which has been around since 1983, is our acceptable addiction. Its fans claim that it gives them a lift, seemingly without any downside.And it’s not as if it’s going to make you fat: each 330ml can has only half a calorie. What harm can it do?
Stern is meticulously healthy in every aspect of her life — scanning ingredients lists, buying only organic produce, visiting the gym five times a week without fail — and describes Diet Coke as her only vice: “I have no idea what’s in it. To be honest I’d rather not know. I just love the idea that it’s calorie-free. It’s my guilt-free treat.”
That “diet” word is clearly a key factor. We know that fizzy drinks aren’t good for us, yet the loyalty to Diet Coke is strong. What secret ingredient is it that keeps us hooked?
First up is carbonated water; nothing much to see there. Then we get to colour — caramel E150d; an E number, but not one of the ones deemed undesirable by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). The next items are the artificial sweeteners aspartame and acesulfame K. These are controversial, having been linked to everything from depression to brain tumours and other cancers.
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But European Commission studies in 2001 and 2006 found no proof for this. And Coca-Cola GB insists: “The scientific evidence is overwhelming; aspartame is not linked to adverse health effects.” The FSA nonetheless recommends that the average adult drink no more than 14 cans of sugar-free drink a day.
“There may be no evidence that artificial sweeteners are harmful but they are the reason I avoid diet drinks,” Mark Porter, the Times doctor, says. “They have lots of synthetic chemicals and taste awful. I would advise avoiding the caffeine in these drinks altogether, or limiting your intake to no more than four cans of diet cola, if you are pregnant or have underlying problems like anxiety, insomnia and palpitations.”
Ah yes, caffeine; I was wondering where our little 4pm friend was in this equation. Diet Coke hardly packs a punch with its meagre 43mg per can, less than half the amount you would find in a typical shot of espresso. “You get a bigger hit from a couple of squares of dark chocolate or a cup of green tea,” says Alison Duker, the founder of www.eatbetternow.co.uk, “although the caffeine in Diet Coke is absorbed more quickly because it’s mixed with phosphoric and citric acids.” The high speed hit may well explain why so many feel reliant on it.
Acids: doesn’t sound good. “If we could grow new tooth enamel we’d have nothing to worry about,” says Mohit Khurana, who runs his own dental practice and lectures at Liverpool University: “But we need to be careful of anything that weakens tooth enamel. Don’t sip slowly, have them with food so your saliva can best cope with the acid attack and don’t brush within an hour of drinking, when enamel is at its weakest.”
But it’s not just our teeth that we need to protect from acid. “There’s a growing body of evidence that too much acid causes loss of bone density,” says Antonia Adeniji, a nutritionist at the British College of Osteopathic Medicine. “Our body balances the acid with alkali, from foods like fruit and vegetables. If you are not getting enough of those then the body will take calcium from your bones.” Food for thought when half of all women are affected by osteoporosis.
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Clearly it’s not the caffeine-packed rocket fuel we thought. Nor is there anything specifically addictive in its ingredients. Yet it still exerts a pull over its legion of fans. “I just love my little can of chemicals,” says Stern. And she’s far from alone.
Daniel Finkelstein ’fesses up on fizz
My name is Daniel Finkelstein. And I am a Diet Coke addict. I adhere to the ten steps programme. The first nine steps involve getting you to mind your own business. The tenth is to open another can.
I am told that a Diet Coke habit is the last acceptable addiction. You could have fooled me.
I don’t drink alcohol, coffee or tea. I don’t smoke. And I have never taken an illegal drug. But I do like a cool refreshing can, just for the taste. Actually, a number of cans. Or even, in the right convivial setting, with the right food, a 2-litre bottle.
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I am not bothering anybody else. Drinking doesn’t lead me to reel out into the street singing Football’s Coming Home.
I have never punched someone for staring at my bird. Nobody is going to die from passive Diet Coke drinking caused by me imbibing near by. The most that happens is that the caffeine makes me tap the floor with my right foot while another columnist is trying to concentrate.
So you would think that my Diet Coke and I were hardly ever mentioned. That I was allowed to drink in peace. I am sorry to disillusion you. My family bring it up. But that’s all right. They are allowed to.
They are worried that it might be harming me and I appreciate their concern. I do occasionally (ever so nicely, you know me) point out that it would be better if they produced evidence to back up their fear. But generally I put up with it. I even stock caffeine-free Diet Coke at home, to make everyone feel more comfortable.
What surprises me are the people who have no proprietorial interest in my health but hate fizzy drinks. If I ever write about Diet Coke these people write to me in droves. They tell me how awful my habit is, how it is bound to kill me. They urge different drinks upon me, send me scientific papers (which peter out without proving anything) and suggest that I go cold turkey. I have no idea why they care. I have decided to take it as a compliment.