• It's impossible to directly compare the health effects of diet and regular soda, since we have far more research on the regular kind.
• The studies we do have suggest regular soda is linked with obesity and weight gain, while diet soda hasn't been strongly tied to any negative health outcomes.
• For that reason, Aaron Carroll, a pediatrician and professor of pediatrics, says it's fine to drink diet soda occasionally — but never the regular varieties.

Research tying artificial sweeteners to cancer was done in rats who were vulnerable to cancer

The study linking diet drinks to dementia also found a link between regular soda and dementia

Plenty of research links regular soda to disease