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Ted Walz<\/a> is Kamala Harris\u2019s vice presidential running mate and JD Vance<\/a> is Donald Trump\u2019s and never the twain shall meet. Right? Wrong. At least when it comes to their (and Lana Del Ray<\/a>\u2019s?) reported soft drink of choice: Diet Mountain Dew.<\/p>\n Last month, Vance told a joke that fell flat<\/a> about drinking the bubbly beverage (later ribbed over it<\/a> by Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear), and toasted with it at a public appearance with Newsmax, reportedly declaring<\/a>, \u201cThis is the good stuff here. High caffeine, low calorie.\u201d<\/p>\n Walz, meanwhile, demonstrated years ago that \u201ca seemingly bottomless can of\u201d the fizzy stuff was his refreshment of choice, according to a local profile<\/a>, as was pointed out by the New York Times<\/a> on Tuesday in a short piece about this \u201cbizarre twist of beverage fate.\u201d He\u2019s also offered recent evidence<\/a> of his love for the stuff on X<\/a>. <\/p>\n News of the amusing common denominator comes about a year after the World Health Organization raised concerns<\/a> about the health risks of aspartame, which is one of three artificial sweeteners\u2014along with acesulfame potassium and sucralose\u2014used in Diet Mountain Dew.\u00a0And it comes several months after the Federal Trade Commission issued a warning to the\u00a0American Beverage Association<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0the Canadian Sugar Institute<\/a> for allegedly compensating dietician influencers to endorse the safety of aspartame on TikTok and Instagram<\/a> without disclosing their connection to the trade associations.<\/p>\n The FDA<\/a> considers all three of the sweeteners to be \u201cgenerally recognized as safe,\u201d but manufacturers don\u2019t need to present significant, peer-reviewed research in order to get a food additive into that category, Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPH, a cardiologist and director of the Food is Medicine Institute <\/a>at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, previously told Fortune<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n It also didn\u2019t stop the WHO\u2019s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) from classifying the artificial sweetener<\/a> as \u201cpossibly carcinogenic to humans,\u201d or level 2B out of 4, and calling for more research.<\/p>\n \u201cThe assessments of aspartame have indicated that, while safety is not a major concern at the doses which are commonly used, potential effects have been described that need to be investigated by more and better studies,\u201d noted the WHO\u2019s director of the Department of Nutrition of Food Safety, Dr. Francesco Branca, at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Group 2B classification is the third highest out of 4 levels,\u201d explained the American Cancer Society<\/a>, citing WHO\u2019s evidence, \u201cand it is generally used either when there is limited, but not convincing, evidence for cancer in humans, or when there is convincing evidence for cancer in lab animals, but not both.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n To put it in perspective, a person weighing 150 pounds would have to consume about nine to 14 cans of diet soda a day to reach unsafe amounts, according to the FDA.\u00a0<\/p>\n Aspartame, though, is just one of the diet soda\u2019s 16 ingredients, according to the nutrition label on the site of parent company PepsiCo<\/a>\u2014a spokesperson for which told Fortune<\/em> it had \u201cno comment\u201d when reached to respond to questions about the health of its product.\u00a0<\/p>\n The full ingredient list is as follows: \u201ccarbonated water, concentrated orange juice, citric acid, natural flavor, potassium benzoate (preserves freshness), citrus pectin, aspartame, potassium citrate, caffeine, sodium citrate, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, gum arabic, sodium benzoate (preserves freshness), calcium disodium EDTA (to protect flavor), yellow 5.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n That complex, chartreuse combo has earned the product a food score of 6 out of 10 (10 being most hazardous) on the Environmental Working Group<\/a> (EWG) consumer site, with the most potentially risky ingredients being the artificial color yellow 5, the nonspecific chemical mix of \u201cnatural flavor,\u201d and aspartame, according to the site.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t score well because there\u2019s ingredient concerns, there\u2019s processing concerns, and there\u2019s obviously not really much nutritional value in Diet Mountain Dew,\u201d EWG\u2019s senior scientist Tasha Stoiber tells Fortune<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Besides aspartame, ingredients flagged by Stoiber include yellow 5, natural flavor, and the artificial sweeteners sucralose and acesulfame potassium.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a recent study on links to cardiovascular disease\u00a0 that included these three sweeteners,\u201d Stoiber says, pointing to the 2023 observational study<\/a> which found an association between aspartame and stroke, and between acesulfame potassium and sucralose with higher coronary artery disease risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n The artificial color of yellow 5, otherwise known as tatrazine, meanwhile, has been flagged, she says, \u201cespecially for young children,\u201d because of \u201cnumerous epidemiological studies\u201d showing an association with behavioral changes including irritability, restlessness, depression and difficulty with sleeping. The EWG has sponsored legislation in California, still pending, that would call for removing articial dyes from foods eaten by kids in schools. But both the FDA and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have deemed yellow 5 safe.\u00a0<\/p>\n Other controversial ingredients include the preservative calcium disodium EDTA<\/a>, a slightly salty powder that\u2019s been found related to digestive issues if consumed in very high amounts; and the additive sodium benzoate, which has been associated (without evidence of cause and effect), through various studies, with children\u2019s hyperactivity, increased anxiety, hormone level disruption, and disrupted liver and kidney function, according to a 2022 study<\/a> published in Nutrients<\/em>. (But it\u2019s not officially regarded as harmful\u2014and has even shown therapeutic potential for treating depression, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder, and neurodegenerative diseases, according to that same study.)\u00a0<\/p>\n Finally, a 12-oz. serving of Diet Mountain Dew contains 54 mg of caffeine, compared to about 130 mg in the same size cup of coffee<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n So what about the thirsts of Walz and Vance? <\/p>\n \u201cOne of the best things that you can do for your health and energy levels is to stay hydrated<\/a>,\u201d suggests Stoiber. \u201cAnd drinking filtered water <\/a>is a great way to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nIs aspartame safe?<\/h2>\n
Are other Diet Mountain Dew ingredients healthy?<\/h2>\n
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