Diet soda is often consumed by people who either want to lose weight, or maintain a normal weight. The ironic thing is that diet sodas actually increase a person’s chances of becoming overweight, by tricking the body into thinking it’s actually consuming sugar, which increases food cravings. A study conducted at the University of Texas discovered that consumption of two or more cans of diet soda daily caused increased waistline girth in subjects studied.

The main reason why diet sodas have damaging effects on the body is because they contain artificial sweeteners. The vast majority of diet sodas on the market contain either aspartame or sucralose. Aspartame has been linked to cognitive decline, mood swings, depression, dizziness and migraines, while sucralose has a negative impact on insulin sensitivity and gut health.

Even just drinking one can of diet soda each day can increase the risk of metabolic syndrome (diabetes, heart disease, and risk for stroke) by close to 40 percent. Diet soda also impairs kidney function. A Harvard study followed 3,000 female subjects who drank diet sodas, and found that those who drank more than two sodas each day had impaired kidney function.

As if that wasn’t enough, diet sodas cause damage at the cellular level, as well as erode tooth enamel. This is due to the very acidic nature of diet soda, which has a pH of 3.2. Chemicals such as sodium benzoate and potassium benzoate are added to inhibit the acidic quality of the soft drink, but these chemicals cause damage in mitochondrial DNA in our cells, and have been linked to numerous allergies and asthma in some subjects.

Lastly, most cans which house diet sodas are coated with bisphenol-A (BPA), which has a strong correlation with development of heart disease and reproductive issues.

If you absolutely can’t give up diet sodas entirely, wean yourself off of them gradually. After you have kicked the daily diet soda habit, you can incorporate a diet soda called Zevia, which does not contain aspartame or sucralose, into your diet.