Study Links Diet Soda with Depression in Older Adults

A recent study on diet soda shows that adults who consume at least four cups a day are 31% more likely to be depressed than people who don't drink diet soda. They were even more likely to report depression than people who had four or more cups of coffee a day. When conducting a survey, the researchers found that more than 260,000 older adults in the United States who consume diet soda, iced tea, or fruit punch (all artificially sweetened drinks) reported that they were depressed. The survey also showed that people who consume these artificial sweeteners in lower amounts are still at a higher risk of being depressed.
Eva Redei, a professor of psychiatry at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, states that we can't put all the blame on just the diet drinks based only on these findings. There are still many questions that need to be answered first in order to prove that these sweeteners in diet drinks actually cause depression. The American Beverage Association also claims that they are not impressed by these findings. They also claim that as of now, there is no actual scientific evidence proving that these beverages cause depression.
Redei also makes a point to add that this study focuses on older adults, who may also be diabetic or obese (both of which have a high risk of developing depression). People who have diabetes or are obese tend to favor these diet drinks to try to improve their conditions.
There have been many studies in the past on diet soda that state it causes poorer health. In my opinion, diet soda is okay in moderation.The common misconception with diet soda is that it is healthier than regular soda. Most people who are trying to lose weight drink diet soda and think it is helping them be healthier. In reality, if people want to actually be healthier, they will cut out soda all together.

As far as depression is concerned, I do not believe there is enough scientific evidence to prove that the diet soda causes depression. I think this topic has many controversial points to it, since there are so many groups trying to prove that diet soda is causing poor health. The soda companies will always try to defend their product and advertise it more to attract customers, where scientists will try to help people by coming up with a conclusion. The real question we have to ask ourselves in the end is 'who do we trust?'

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