Doctor warns why you should stop drinking diet soda immediately

A doctor has issued a warning to anyone who drinks diet fizzy drinks, saying it is not harm-free despite there being no sugar in the soda.

The warning - or rather, four warnings - come from Dr Saurabh Sethi, a Harvard and Stanford-trained medical expert who specialises in gastroenterology (a posh term for your digestive system and guts).

Based over in the USA, Dr Sethi has been practising for more than 20 years, giving him a fair bit of authority when it comes to knowing what is good and bad for our digestive tracts.

So while we think we're doing a good thing by kicking out the sugar from our soft drinks, Dr Sethi states that drinking the sugarless variety also comes with its own problems.

Taking to TikTok, where he has more than 400,000 followers, he issued four reasons that diet sodas are still terrible for your health.

"Are diet sodas any better than regular sodas? Here are four facts you might not know," he says.

"First, women who drink two or more diet sodas daily face a significantly higher risk of heart attack and stroke.

"Second; the high phosphorus content in diet sodas can contribute to chronic kidney disease."

He continues: "Third; diet sodas can negatively impact insulin sensitivity and disrupt gut microbiome; affecting your gut health.

"Fourth, they can increase cravings for high calorie foods, disrupting appetite control. Ultimately, diet sodas offer no nutritional benefits."

Dr Sethi's words are backed up by work from the National Kidney Foundation, which has produced research saying drinking two or more diet sodas per day can cause harm to the kidneys.

And Dr Frankie Phillips, from the British Dietetic Association, has echoed Dr Sethi's warning over health risks associated to diet soft drinks.

She warns that sugar or no sugar, your teeth are hurting as a result.

The problem with fizzy and diet drinks is they're very acidic," Dr Frankie told BBC Newsbeat.

"They can cause erosions to the dental enamel, potentially dissolving the enamel on our teeth."

Dr Frankie adds that is 'not really an either or' when it comes to drinking sugary soda or diet versions.

"With artificial sweeteners, there's still debate on the use of them and whether they're healthy," she says.

"Will they help you keep a healthy weight? The jury is still out on that. If you're going to have a fizzy drink, if you're concerned about your calorie and sugar intake then go for a diet one more often.

"But my advice would be to just have a fizzy drink at mealtimes or with a meal rather than in-between, that's the most damage to your teeth."