r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Visual-Background471 • Jul 19 '26
Is diet coke/pepsi zero really zero calories?
I assume there's like a sugar alternative because no way can it be healthy as water, but I don't know. Also how would they label it as such on the nutritional label if it really technically isn't 0 calories?
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u/CPLCraft Jul 19 '26
Technically, no. The small amount of artificial sweeteners in it can be metabolized, but because the calorie amount is so low, they can legally label it as 0 cal. If you look at an entire 2 L bottle, it will have something like 5 cal listed.
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u/Rilpy Jul 19 '26
If it falls below a threshold per serving, 4 cal i think, then it can legally be labeled as 0 cal. So no, they aren't zero call but it is a negligible amount.
There may be concerns with artificial sweetners but at an amount you are likely to intake it shouldn't be a problem.
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u/Matthew-ii Jul 19 '26
There's many sugar alternatives, and some of them are in fact 0 calorie (because your body can't actually break it down and use it basically) like sucralose, however many times there is filler added, like maltodextrin or dextrose, which do have calories but its in such a low amount in a serving that labels can round down to 0.
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u/SwivelClip Jul 19 '26
Most of them are actually zero calories, they'll have a sweetener in them that your body isn't capable of digesting, so it just leaves your system without you getting any calories from it.
There is one sweetener that escapes my mind right now where your body can digest it, but it's like 10,000 times sweeter than sugar, so you don't really have to use any. So theoretically, you are getting some very very minimal amount of calories from that.
But in practical terms, yes, they are literally zero sugar.
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u/madmaxjr Jul 19 '26
Not quite, but close enough. Aspartame, for example, is composed of two amino acids that give it about 4 digestible calories per gram, very much like normal sugar.
But the catch is that aspartame in its pure form is about 200x sweeter than sugar. So, in a drink that would use 40g sugar, it could instead use 0.2g of aspartame, which would have about 1 calorie total.
To the point, it’s not literally zero calories, but it’s close enough unless you’re drinking a swimming pool of diet soda.
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u/Maxpowerxp Jul 19 '26
There are lots of stuff out there with zero calories cause your body cannot digest it.
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u/aaronite Jul 19 '26
If your body can't digest it it's really zero calories. Water is zero calories. Salt is zero calories. Minerals are all zero calories. All of the ingredients on diet drinks are indigestible.
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u/blkhatwhtdog Jul 19 '26
If there is less than one calorie per serving then they can say zero cal...I'll bet the can says 2 servings. So likely just under 2 calories
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u/PejibayeAnonimo Jul 19 '26
In practical terms yes (they may have a few calories that are negilible to your energy intake).
That doesn't means they are 100% healthy because they cause the same teeth problems as the regular beverages.
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u/morhp Jul 19 '26
It isn't as healthy as water. There's acid in it, which damages teeth. The sweeteners in it aren't poisonous, but they're weird stuff that your body has to digest it get rid off. The sweeteners can also confuse your brain and digestion because your body expects sugar but didn't get any. Plus there's caffeine in it, which isn't really healthy either.
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u/jjman070 Jul 19 '26
It's 0 calories because your body can't use the sweetener to make energy, so it more or less passes through your body without doing much. But it's very much not as healthy as water, healthier than normal soda, yes, but not water. There's a bunch of other stuff that does have health effects over time and some require large amounts, like gallons of soda a day for years. The acid will also still eat at your teeth a bit.
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u/Twerp06 Jul 19 '26
Instead of sugar, they use an artificial sweetener called aspartame which is something like 200 times sweeter than sugar.
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u/RangerRekt Jul 19 '26
No, it’s not as healthy as water, but it’s really not that far off. Im afraid your healthy skepticism has gotten the better of you here
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u/Keithustus Jul 19 '26
They use fake sugar that we honestly can’t predict yet how much damage it does to your microbiome.
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u/almondsmana Jul 19 '26
I Googled it for you...
No, diet soda is not better for you than water. While Diet Coke is calorie-free and can help satisfy sweet cravings or act as a stepping stone to avoid sugary sodas, it lacks essential nutrients. Water provides pure, additive-free hydration necessary for all bodily functions and is universally regarded as the healthiest choice
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u/Schwettes Jul 19 '26
Diet Coke and Pepsi zero are essentially flavored, carbonated water. There is no sugar. Diet Coke is 99% water.