Why your ‘healthy’ diet fizzy drinks might be wrecking your teeth and gut

In 1879, the Russian chemist Constantin Fahlberg, spent the day diligently analysing coal tar in his lab. That evening, his bread rolls had an unusually sweet taste. Realising that he had forgotten to wash his hands, he rushed back to the lab to perform tests on the doughy deviation. He had stumbled upon anhydroorthosulphaminebenzoic acid. Later, more appetisingly named saccharin.

Realising the ravenous nature of the human sweet tooth, chemists started developing all manner of artificial sweeteners. This train accelerated after the world wars in response to the decline in sugar production. Nowadays, artificial sweetener products are promoted, packaged and preened to such dizzying heights that they are seen as health-boosting beverages and foods.

Lies (menopause is wonderfully freeing)! Take the mouth, diet drinks crammed with artificial sweeteners, have an acidity rating of between 2.5 and 3.5, making them roughly the same as stomach acid. Swish this stuff around your teeth for long enough and say goodbye to your beautiful enamel. The enamel washes away, blunting and yellowing teeth faster than sandpaper. This leaves the teeth bereft of their white armour and much more vulnerable to decay.

Aspartame, sucralose, saccharin, and acesulfame potassium are the artificial sweeteners found in many diet drinks. These artificial sweeteners can disrupt the delicate balance of bacteria in our mouths, potentially allowing harmful strains to dominate. The effect of synthetic sweeteners doesn’t stop in the mouth; they also alter the gut microbiome, which ultimately has a negative impact on our blood sugar levels.

Additionally, regularly topping up on diet drinks fosters a sweet tooth and actually makes us more likely to end up overeating junk foods. So, for those who reach for diet drinks in the hope of having healthier teeth and keeping their weight down, diet drinks may not be such a wise choice.

Not all artificial sweeteners are bad; the likes of xylitol and erythritol can have positive impacts on our teeth. However, on the whole, our bodies are designed for natural foods and drinks; anything chemically synthesised tends to be a biological time bomb, and over time, disease can set in.

If you want to make it easy for your body engine, try fuelling it with natural drinks like water, milk, tea and coffee without sugars or sweeteners.