- With Mayo Clinic nutritionist
Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
As a specialty editor for the Food & Nutrition Center, Katherine Zeratsky helps you sort through the facts and figures, the fads and the hype to learn more about nutrition and diet.
A Marinette, Wis., native, she is certified in dietetics by the state of Minnesota and the American Dietetic Association. She has been with Mayo Clinic since 1999.
She is active in nutrition-related curriculum and course development in pediatrics at Mayo Clinic Rochester and nutrition education related to the physiology and recommended intakes for premature infants.
Other areas of interest include breast milk and formula safety, neonatal feeding, and nutrition for breast-feeding mothers.
She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, served a dietetic internship at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and worked as a registered dietitian and health risk counselor at ThedaCare of Appleton, Wis., before joining the Mayo Clinic staff.
Nutrition basics (24)
- Multigrain vs. whole grain: Which is healthier?
- Healthy chocolate — Dream or reality?
- Yerba mate: Is it safe to drink?
- see all in Nutrition basics
Healthy diets (9)
- Water after meals: Does it disturb digestion?
- Diverticulitis diet: Should I avoid nuts and seeds?
- Diverticulitis diet: Can certain foods trigger an attack?
- see all in Healthy diets
Healthy cooking (8)
- E. coli: How can I tell if food is contaminated?
- Canned pumpkin: Better than fresh?
- Food poisoning: How long can you safely keep leftovers?
- see all in Healthy cooking
Healthy menus and shopping strategies (7)
- Calories in sushi: What are the low-cal options?
- Vegetable juice: As good as whole vegetables?
- Buying beef? A guide to choosing the leanest cuts
- see all in Healthy menus and shopping strategies
Nutritional supplements (14)
- Vitamin C: Can too much be harmful?
- Chocolate: Does it impair calcium absorption?
- Percent Daily Value: What does it mean?
- see all in Nutritional supplements
Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Question
Diet soda: Is it bad for you?
I drink diet soda every day. Could this be harmful?
Answer
from Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
Drinking a reasonable amount of diet soda a day, such as a can or two, isn't likely to hurt you. The artificial sweeteners and other chemicals currently used in diet soda are safe for most people, and there's no credible evidence that these ingredients cause cancer. Some types of diet soda are even fortified with vitamins and minerals. But diet soda isn't a health drink or a silver bullet for weight loss. Although switching from regular soda to diet soda may save you calories, some studies suggest that drinking more than one soda a day — regular or diet — increases your risk of obesity and related health problems such as type 2 diabetes.
Healthier choices abound. Start your day with a small glass of 100 percent fruit juice. Drink skim milk with meals. Sip water throughout the day. For variety, try sparkling water or add a squirt of lemon or cranberry juice to your water. Save diet soda for an occasional treat.
Next questionWater softeners: How much sodium do they add?
- Artificial sweeteners and cancer. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/artificial-sweeteners. Accessed Oct. 16, 2009.
- Dhingra J, et al. Soft drink consumption and risk of developing cardiometabolic risk factors and the metabolic syndrome in middle-aged adults in the community. Circulation. 2007;116:480.
