As extremely busy students that often stay at school past dinner time for evening activities, it’s easy to reach for sugary snacks. They are tasty, and oftentimes packaged so conveniently that it seems like a huge time saver compared to making a sandwich. We all know that sugar isn’t great, but many don’t realize just how bad it is, and how much it’s over consumed.

A regular 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola contains 39 grams of sugar, or 10 teaspoons. It’s recommended that most adults consume no more than 36-50 grams of sugar per day. So, drinking a can of Coca-Cola with 39 grams of added sugar likely sets the average person up for failure when trying to consume the recommended amount of sugar per day. This is a clear issue for many, as the average American citizen (adult, teenager, or child) consumes around 17 teaspoons, or 68 grams of sugar, each day. This large added sugar intake is extremely hazardous to one’s health.

Added sugars are processed and included in foods to extend shelf life and increase sweetness. They are not the sugars naturally found in foods, such as fruits, which are accompanied by beneficial nutrients. Aside from weight gain and obesity, processed sugars are known to cause several diseases that can dramatically increase risk of heart attack and stroke. According to researchers attending Harvard Medical School, consuming excess amounts of sugar can overload the liver, a primary cause of fatty liver disease, a condition where unwanted fat accumulates in the liver. This disorder is a contributor to the development of type two diabetes, which occurs when the body is unable to produce enough insulin or use the hormone properly to allow glucose to enter the body’s cells for energy. This leads to high blood sugar levels, which causes plaque buildup in blood vessels. This accumulation weakens the vessels, which can lead to a diagnosis of heart disease, a potentially deadly condition that is known to cause heart attacks. Excess blood glucose resulting from type two diabetes can also cause clots to develop in blood vessels, narrowing passageways and cutting off blood supply. If this occurs in the neck or head, it could potentially cut off oxygen flow to the brain and lead to a stroke. However, despite these negative health implications, 58% of Americans continue to consume over the recommended amount of sugar each day.

Diet Coke offers a solution to those who crave soda, but wish to remain within the recommended guidelines for sugar and calorie intake. However, in the past few years this drink has been criticized for containing artificial sweeteners. The drink’s main source of criticism is the ingredient aspartame. The artificial sweetener was labeled possibly carcinogenic by the World Health Organization, which does not mean that it’s actually linked to cancer. It was placed in category 2B on the IARC Hazard Classification scale, but it’s worth noting that there are two more categories filled with substances of greater risk. Additionally, the FDA disputes all claims that aspartame is a possibly carcinogenic additive, claiming there were “significant shortcomings” in the studies suggesting this conclusion. As “one of the most studied food additives in the human food supply,” the FDA determined an acceptable daily intake of aspartame to be 23 milligrams per pound of body weight. A 12-ounce can of Diet Coke contains around 200 milligrams of aspartame, so anyone over 9 pounds can drink without worry. The famous saying in toxicology “the dose makes the poison” is applicable here, as one would have to drink an unrealistic amount of Diet Coke to see any actual negative effects on health.

However, there is a common risk associated with consumption of Diet Coke that often goes unnoticed amongst all the false talk of dangerous artificial sweeteners. Aspartame and other artificial sweeteners are about 200 times sweeter than regular sugar. If an excess amount of these sweeteners is consumed, the palate can begin to adapt to these increased levels of sweetness. This process causes nutrient rich foods with natural sugars, such as fruits, to taste less sweet. When this occurs, many people add additional sugar to foods in order to achieve the level of sweetness they crave, or they cut foods with natural sugars out of their diets entirely because they are no longer satisfying. This negative effect of consuming products with artificial sweeteners, such as Diet Coke, is important to be aware of, but it can be reversed with proper diet adjustments.

When consuming both Coca-Cola and Diet Coke, it is important to remember the amount being consumed is significant in determining its negative effects. While Diet Coke does have artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, there is not a large enough concentration of these ingredients in the drink to actually affect a consumer’s health. Coca-Cola, on the other hand, contains a large amount of sugar that can very easily contribute to serious health issues if consumed regularly. So, while it is best to drink both sodas in moderation as neither drink is nutrient dense, Diet Coke is undoubtedly the better option for anyone trying to limit their sugar and calorie intake, as well as avoid future potential medical consequences.