Diet soda is just as healthy as water… right?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
We love soda, just not the sugar. Enter diet soda – a sugar-free option! But type two diabetes guidelines still recommend water. Does it actually matter?
Andrew Odegaard and team from the University of California, Irvine wanted to find out. They studied almost two-hundred people with well-managed type two diabetes. One group drank water, the other diet soda.
AND? After six months, no difference. Blood sugar levels stayed the same.
Can we all drink diet soda now? Not so fast.
The study was small, so results may not apply to everyone.
But you know what… water is more delicious anyway.
Odegaard, A. O., Chang, J., Jiang, L., Rashid, S., Rydell, S., Mitchell, N. R., Bantle, A. E.,
Seaquist, E., Reikes, A., & Pereira, M. A. (2025). The Effect of Substituting Water for Artificially Sweetened Beverages on Glycemic and Weight Measures in People With Type 2 Diabetes: The Study of Drinks With Artificial Sweeteners (SODAS), a Randomized Trial. Diabetes Care, 49(2), 239–246. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc25-1516