That was one scary article!
I'm not a big fan of artificial sweeteners and have been known to
a bit much on the subject.
Some people do just fine with diet drinks - no unusual medical issues and lose weight at the same pace as someone who doesn't drink them. I'm (sadly) not one of them. I was struggling and struggling to lose weight and the most I managed to accomplish was to slow my gaining - until I got rid of my Crystal Light which I was drinking by the gallon (literally - I would drink about 1/2 gallon every day telling myself it was my water servings for the day). Admittedly, I also made a lot of other changes and have made it a point to avoid chemically processed food in general as often as possible so it might be the combination but, to my way of thinking, the key word there is "artificial" and even Splenda, whose big selling point is that it's derived from sugar, is chemically altered (and, from what I've read, to the point where on a molecular level it more closely resembles a pesticide than sugar).
Like everything else in the "dieting world", it really boils down to being a personal choice and what works for you. The only way to find out for sure if is to try a month or so without (or at least taper off - I quit Crystal Light cold turkey and wouldn't recommend that drastic a step
)
OK, sorry. I tried to warn you