The ingredients of a Diet Coke right off of its bottle: carbonated water, caramel color, aspartame, phosphoric acid, potassium citrate, natural flavors, citric acid, and caffeine. This addictive and dangerous blend of aspartame and caffeine is anything BUT healthy for human consumption but America drinks beverages like this more then they do water. Most people have heard of aspartame but what about the other ingredients? Here is some information on those other less known or talked about additions:

Caramel color: Research published by the federal government’s National Toxicology Program showed that long-term exposure to 4-methylimidazole—a contaminant in the caramel coloring—lead to an increase in lung cancer in male and female mice. And these findings resulted in the addition of 4-MEI to California’s Proposition 65 list of carcinogens. The International Agency for Research on Cancer also concluded that caramel coloring is possibly carcinogenic to humans. 

Aspartame: Animal studies show more of an increase in cancer risk than human studies have. But there is definitely enough of a connection to avoid or limit your exposure to the additive. The low-calorie sweetener may actually be tricking your body into weight gain and some studies suggest that when our taste buds sense sweetness, the body expects a calorie load to accompany it. When that doesn’t happen, it may cause us to overeat because we crave the energy rush our body was expecting. These types of artificial sweeteners might also dull your taste buds, meaning you eat more high-flavor, high-calorie foods to satisfy your cravings.

Phosphoric Acid: The acid in this ingredient is what erodes tooth enamel. Additional research has also linked excessive exposure to additional adverse health issues. According to a study in the journal Epidemiology,drinking two or more colas a day—diet or regular—was associated with a twofold risk of developing kidney disease. The researchers indicated that although an exact cause is unknown, the phosphoric acid in colas has been associated with urinary changes that promote kidney stones. 

Natural flavors: Hundreds of chemicals can be used to mimic the taste of natural flavors—so natural flavors can be anything. The term natural just means they are derived from foods found in nature, but does not make them a health food or safe as some people assume.

Take a look at symptoms from aspartame above - do you suffer from headaches, ringing in your ears (tinnitus) dizziness, anxiety or joint pain? Aspartame is in almost everything processed these days from cookies, cakes, soda, chewing gum, children's vitamins and even baby formula. 

Sweet Misery - Aspartame, A Poisoned World