Scientists Discover Why Diet Soda Tastes Bad

Scientists claim that it isn't necessarily the taste of diet soda that consumers dislike, but rather how it feels in the mouth that causes the averse reaction to the soft drink.

Until now, studies have shown that consumers have expressed distaste for the sugar substitutes and artificial sweeteners used in diet soda, such as aspartame, and more recently, Splenda.

But two scientists from the University of Illinois whose specialize in food science say that what consumers really dislike about diet soda is what they term the "mouth-feel". Scientists Soo-Yeun Lee and Shelly Schmidt say that regular soda has a particular thickness, body and consistency due to the presence of the sweetener high fructose corn syrup. They say that the absence of high fructose corn syrup in diet soda yields a mouth-feel that is not only different, but sometimes objectionable when compared to consumer expectations of soda. The difference may be subtle and subconscious, but it is definitely a factor.

Scientists Soo-Yeun Lee and Shelly Schmidt aimed to prove that when they conducted their research over a four-week period, in which a group of 12 people were asked to used a 15-point scale to rate characteristics of both diet and regular soda, with a focus on mouth-feel.

As any foodie knows, taste is but only one factor of determining what is good food and what isn't. Texture, color and aroma, among others, also play important roles. After a short period of time, the test group was able to accurately detect subtle variations in various diet sodas and the differences in mouth-feel, something that everyone recognizes whether they realize it or not.

The scientists think that mouth-feel of diet soda is such an important factor that they are actively seeking a new ingredient that might enable diet soda to reproduce the same mouth-feel, body and consistency of regular soda, without adding extra calories.

They also claim that diet lemon-lime sodas are more popular than diet colas because the the lemon-lime flavor helps to mask the differences in mouth-feel, in essence making the diet soda seem more like its regular soda counterpart. They feel this would help break the stigma associated with diet soda and lead to a better fight against obesity, in which soda is a big factor.