The label says “zero calories”

which means your body cannot metabolize it.

You cannot properly metabolize a big piece of retread either. But I wouldn't stop in the middle of the interstate to pick up an old tire that just fell off a semi because I'm trying to lose weight.

Aspartame has resulted in more complaints to the FDA due to side affects than any other additive in FDA history. The FDA’s approval of this chemical has been labeled by experts as troubling at best, and unfortunately, the public is dealing with the repercussions.

Aspartame breaks down into wood-alcohol (methanol), which is essentially embalming fluid, at just over 100 degrees in the human body. "Diet" products (i.e., Nutra-sweet, Equal, sodas, chewing gums, diet drinks, sugar free snacks/drinks, diet foods, supplement bars/powders, etc.) containing the chemical sweetener aspartame can have multiple neurotoxic, metabolic, allergenic, and carcinogenic effects. Some of these are: the initiation or aggravation of diabetes mellitus, hypoglycemia, convulsions, headache, depression, other psychiatric states, thyroid dysfunction, hypertension, arthritis, the simulation of multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, lupus erythematosus and carpal tunnel syndrome - to name only a few. Also, “diet” sodas containing aspartame have recently been found to cause weight gain in many individuals due to the fact that this chemical’s powerful effects on the brain alter communication with the liver, ultimately causing potentially serious blood sugar problems (and they do NOT fool the appestat).

Splenda, or Sucralose, may be one of man’s worst inventions to date (next to aspartame). Splenda is a man-made combination of sugar and chlorine, otherwise know as a Chlorocarbon. Chlorocarbons have long been known for causing organ, genetic and reproductive damage and up to 40% shrinkage of the thymus, a gland that is the very foundation of our immune system. Sucralose also causes swelling of the liver and kidneys and calcification of the kidneys.

Yeah, Coke Zero may have zero calories. But it and all the other "diet" concoctions out there don't have zero health effects. In fact, I'd prefer my clients drink a regular soda than a diet one. Hell, they'd actually be better off consuming anything found on the asphalt or on the street than any item with aspartame or sucralose.