We Asked a Doctor If Diet Soda Is Healthier Than Alcohol

More and more people are cutting back on or quitting alcohol altogether. Mocktails are a popular alternative, but often cost nearly as much as a cocktail and contain added sugars from juice or simple syrups.

Sometimes, a simple diet soda seems like the best option. So, we asked our Chief Medical Officer, Sohaib Imtiaz, MD, if replacing alcohol with diet soda is a healthy choice.

*This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Q: Is diet soda a good alternative to alcohol?

Imtiaz: I can say with certainty that diet sodas are a lot better than alcohol. Of course, water is the healthiest option, but if you’re out with friends and want to sip on something other than water without the negative effects of alcohol, a diet soda is a great choice.

Are Diet Sodas Healthy?

If you think of these drinks on a continuum, with alcohol being the least healthy and water being the most, diet soda is somewhere in the middle. It doesn’t contain any sugar, so it won’t affect your blood glucose levels like alcohol and other sweetened beverages.

Diet soda is fine to drink in moderation—and it’s definitely better than alcohol—but don’t replace your water with diet soda.

There’s also some debate about how diet sodas, specifically their artificial sweeteners, affect the gut microbiome and long-term health. Some experts believe that the sweeteners in diet sodas contribute to inflammation, insulin resistance, and obesity, and increase the risk of chronic disease.

However, other experts argue that it’s too early to establish a connection between diet soda and gut health, since other factors, like alcohol, smoking, diet, and environment, can also impact the gut microbiome.

There’s no conclusive evidence to say for sure how diet sodas affect gut health.

Is Alcohol Really That Bad for Your Health?

Unfortunately, yes, alcohol really is that bad for your health. We used to say that women could safely drink one alcoholic beverage per day, and men could have two, but in 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that “when it comes to alcohol consumption, there is no safe amount that does not affect health.”

Drinking alcohol puts you at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer. And there is a dose-response relationship, meaning that the more you drink, the higher your risk.