INGREDIENTS. CARBONATED WATER, CARAMEL COLOUR, PHOSPHORIC ACID, ASPARTAME (124 mg/355 mL, CONTAINS PHENYLALANINE), CAFFEINE, POTASSIUM SORBATE, NATURAL FLAVOUR, ACESULFAME POTASSIUM (32 mg/355 mL), CITRIC ACID, PANAX GINSENG ROOT EXTRACT.

While the new Pepsi Zero Sugar formula still contains aspartame and acesulfame potassium (ace-K), the sweetener system has been updated to provide “a more refreshing and bolder taste profile,” according to PepsiCo.

Pepsi says that the upgraded Pepsi Zero Sugar recipe uses a new sweetener system. Pepsi says this was done “to land a more refreshing and bolder taste profile than the previous Pepsi Zero Sugar.”

Zero- or low-calorie sugar alternatives are often hundreds to thousands of times sweeter than ordinary sugar, but they don't raise your blood sugar levels. Common sugar substitutes, including sucralose, aspartame, and acesulfame K, are often called artificial sweeteners since they're made from synthetic ingredients.

The bottom line. Soft drink companies have long pitched diet sodas as a healthy alternative to their full-sugar drinks, but that's not medically accurate. Diet sodas are just as bad - but they're just as bad in a slightly different way.

Due to the artificial sweeteners, Pepsi Zero Sugar does contain phenylalanine and poses similar health risks to Coke's zero-calorie drinks. So far, it seems pretty similar to Coca-Cola Zero sugar, but there are some differences - on the label, at least.

Coke Zero does not add nutritional value to your diet, and the long-term effects of drinking diet sodas are still unclear. If you want to reduce your sugar or regular soda intake, opt for healthier, low-sugar drinks like herbal tea, fruit-infused water, and black coffee - and leave Coke Zero on the shelf.

Diet soda isn't nutritious. Diet soda is essentially a mixture of carbonated water, artificial or natural sweetener, colors, flavors, and other food additives. It usually has very few to no calories and no significant nutrition.

Pepsi Zero Sugar (sold under the names Diet Pepsi Max until early 2009 and then Pepsi Max until August 2016), is a zero-calorie, sugar-free, formerly ginseng-infused cola sweetened with aspartame and acesulfame K, marketed by PepsiCo. It originally contained nearly twice the caffeine of Pepsi's other cola beverages.

Aspartame is used in Diet Coke, Pepsi Zero Sugar and other diet sodas, as well as some chewing gum and various Snapple drinks as a substitute for sugar. Artificially sweetened beverages have historically been the biggest source of exposure to aspartame, according to Lancet Oncology.

No, zero sugar soda uses artificial sweeteners, which increases people's weight. Increased weight, in turn, is linked to the worsening of diabetes. Hence, zero soda is not suitable for diabetes.

There isn't much difference between Coke Zero and Diet Coke. You can drink either coke if you want to reduce your sugar intake. However, they both contain artificial sweeteners, which may not be so healthy either, researchers suggest.