A group of food and nutrition experts shared with USA Today why it's so hard to quit a soda habit, which is expensive in more ways than one.

What's happening?

Ken Frondorf earned the moniker "Diet Coke guy" among friends and family because of his love for the popular, artificially sweetened beverage.

Frondorf wasn't always known as "Diet Coke guy." However, a diabetes diagnosis 20 years ago meant he had to swap his sugary beverages for other options. Enter Diet Coke. 

"Once I settled on the Diet Coke, it's just gotten more over the years to the point where that's all I drink now," said Frondorf, who explained to USA Today that he's tried to cut down or quit more than once. 

Frondorf describes his love for Diet Coke in terms more commonly associated with an addiction, and medical experts told USA Today that's intentional, as the drinks feed the brain's reward and motivation system, increasing dopamine levels and altering the body's metabolism.

Psychology professor Ashley Gearhardt, who runs the University of Michigan's Food and Addiction Science and Treatment lab, told the publication this hyperactivation "makes [sodas] hard to resist."

Why is this important?

The Coca-Cola Company uses several different types of sugar alternatives in its diet drinks, but consumers may be most familiar with aspartame, a possible carcinogen.

However, Thomas Galligan, the principal scientist for food additives and supplements at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told The Cool Down that "more research needs to be done to sort of draw a more conclusive determination."

Feelgood marketing campaigns — who can forget Coca-Cola's iconic "Holidays are Coming" commercials, even if the remixes aren't quite smash hits? — have also trained us to associate Coca-Cola with some of life's happiest moments, fueling consumption habits. 

"They want to inundate every single domain of your life," Gearhardt told USA Today.

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"Just like a chain smoker is dosing themselves with nicotine all day, you're dosing yourself with a naturally delivered sweet taste day after day because whenever it's not there, a part of you feels slightly depressed and slightly dissatisfied," Gearhardt added. 

What can be done about this?

While it may be challenging, kicking your soda habit — or at least cutting down on your intake — will support a healthier tomorrow for not only yourself but also the planet, especially if you opt for products in plastic-free packaging, whether from Coca-Cola or another beverage maker.   

While Coca-Cola offers returnable glass bottles in certain markets and has taken other steps to reduce plastic in packaging — for instance, one of its bottlers swapped plastic rings for fiber-based packaging — it still relies heavily on the dirty fuel-derived material. In fact, the multinational company is one of the world's top plastic polluters year after year. 

Meanwhile, if you want to drink a soda as a treat from time to time, Galligan told TCD that CSPI advises choosing a diet soda over a sugar-sweetened one because it's clear that excessive sugar consumption can cause weight gain, cardiovascular disease, and other health problems.

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