Argumentative Essay: Is Diet Really Diet?

Zero calorie diet foods on the market today are really a faade of a healthier solution.
Many energy drinks, such as Red Bull, claim that their zero calorie drinks can still provide you
with energy even in their absence of calories. In order to still have energy for the drink,
substitutes are used. Ironically, the substitutes turn out to be an even unhealthier alternative to the
calories; the artificial sweeteners have been trialed in laboratory studies and linked to cancer, the
absence of calories forces the quantity of caffeine to go up, and finally, calories are natural and
the substitutes are man-made chemicals.
A calorie is a unit of energy. There are two different kinds of calories: calories used to
measure energy in food (Cal), and in chemistry, one calorie (cal) is equivalent to the amount of
energy that is needed to raise the energy of one gram of water by one degree Celsius. In a
nutrition label, zero calories means that there is zero energy that can be consumed and
transformed into energy in your body. Many large companies such as Red Bull and Coca-Cola
have created energy drinks that they call Zero Calorie. However, in the absence of calories
there needs to be a substitute that provides the energy that calories normally do. According to
Red Bulls Website, one of the substitutes is caffeine. In One 250 mL can of Red Bull Energy
Drink contains 80mg of caffeine (redbull.com). To show a comparison, there are approximately
75mg of caffeine in a Starbucks Caf Latte. Even though the Zero Calorie drinks do not have
calories, there are many different substitutes that step in and serve as calories. These substitutes,
such as Acesulfame, Aspartame, and Potassium Benzoate (in Coke Zero), are more harmful than
calories. Questions regarding the safety of Aspartame were renewed by an increase in the
number of people with brain tumors between 1975 and 1992 [suggested it] might be association
with the introduction and use of the sweetener in the United States (cancer.com).

Some people may argue, that despite these artificial sweeteners known harmful effects
that they are still better for the human body in the end. However, the evidence to the contrary is
just way to strong; these artificial sweeteners have been linked in laboratory studies to cause
cancer.
In conclusion, even though the title Zero Calorie looks like a great idea, it is an illusion
for artificial chemicals whose consequences are greater than the few extra calories you would be
drinking in your regular coke.

Works cited
"American Cancer Society | Information and Resources for Cancer: Breast,
Colon, Lung, Prostate, Skin." American Cancer Society | Information and Resources
for Cancer: Breast, Colon, Lung, Prostate, Skin. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.
"Red Bull Gives You Wings - RedBull.com." Red Bull. N.p., 04 Aug. 2014. Web.
22 Apr. 2016.