People tend to believe that any product with a word “diet” in front of it is truly healthy, but is that really accurate? Some people argue that the switch from a regular soda to a diet soda will not actually help your health, and that it doesn’t taste right. Others swear that diet soda taste better and helps them keep a healthy weight.

What’s great about diet soda is that they have little to no calories or sugar. They replace the calories and natural sugar with artificial sweeteners like Aspartame, Phenylalanine, Sucralose, Cyclamates, Saccharin, and Acesulfame Potassium.

“I prefer diet soda because it’s healthier for you. It has no calories and less sugar” says Dominique Mills.

Opponents argue that dumping all those unnatural chemicals into their body is not healthy. According to Reuters, diet soda lovers are more likely to have risk factors for chronic diseases—like high pressure and sugar.

Freshman Skylar Vandegrift said, “Substitute sugar is worse for you than real sugar.”

Those unnatural sweeteners are much sweeter than regular sugar, but they usually have a weird aftertaste that you don’t find in regular sodas. Diet soda drinkers argue that they get used to the way diet drink taste, and some even prefer it.

Sophomore Leanne Torres disagrees. “It tastes weird and I don’t drink soda that much so I might as well drink the real deal when I do.” She says.

Many students drink diet soda while on campus simply because it’s the only kind sold at the school. Other students say they would much rather drink something else, like water or juice, or bring regular soda from home than put up with the funky after taste in diet sodas.

While I have to agree that less sugar and zero calories seems like quite the miracle, diet soda is probably the last thing I would ever choose to drink. Taste wise, there is no competition between regular and diet soda. Diet soda is gross—end of story.

Besides that, diet soda is loaded with all sorts of weird chemicals. Didn’t our science teachers and parents instruct us to keep the chemicals outside our bodies? Are we really so stubborn in our ways that we would rather drink a concoction of wanna-be sugar and carbonated water than drink some water or juice to stay healthy?