Experts warn that Diet Coke, despite having zero calories, poses health risks like heart disease and gut issues due to artificial sweeteners like aspartame.

Diet Coke (or any soda) isn't known for its healthfulness. Yet, unlike sodas with tons of sugar, Diet Coke is made with aspartame, a non-nutritive sweetener with zero calories.

One of the dietary falsehoods that Coca-Cola spreads is the concept that a calorie is a calorie. "We don't believe in empty calories," Katie Bayne, Coke's former chief marketing officer, said in 2012.

One editor tested 8 different Diet Coke soda alternatives, including offerings from Poppi, Olipop, La Croix, and more — here are her top-rated picks.