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Donald Trump defended his consumption of diet soda by suggesting it might help prevent cancer, according to recent comments shared by Mehmet Oz in an interview with Donald Trump Jr.
The remarks have even prompted some doctors to remind the public that, no, diet soda will not do anything to prevent cancer.
“Your dad argues that diet soda is good for him because it kills grass – if poured on grass – so, therefore, it must kill cancer cells inside the body,” Oz said on Triggered with Don Jr, the president’s eldest son’s podcast.
Oz then described a recent moment onboard Air Force One.
“You know, we were on Air Force One the other day, and I walk in there because he wants to talk about something, and he’s got an orange soft drink on his desk. He’s got a Fanta on the desk,” Oz said. “And I say, ‘Are you kidding me?’ So he starts to, like, sheepishly grin. He says, ‘You know, this stuff’s good for me – it kills cancer cells.’”
Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and television personality who now leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also recalled Trump joking that Fanta, which is made with orange juice from concentrate, could not be unhealthy because it is “fresh squeezed”.
Don Jr responded by suggesting there might be something to his father’s habits: “But then maybe he’s on to something. Because I will say this: I know a lot of guys pushing 80, not a lot have his level of energy, recall, stamina.”
These remarks about Trump’s diet come as the health department works on updating US nutrition guidelines, including revising the food pyramid to emphasize “real food”.
Trump has long defended his preference for sweet drinks and fast food as part of his approach to staying healthy. “He doesn’t want to get sick, so he eats junk food, but it’s food made in large, reputable chains because they have quality control,” Oz said on the podcast.
Most diet sodas are sweetened with aspartame, a low-calorie artificial sweetener that is about 200 times sweeter than sugar. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has categorized aspartame as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” (group 2B). This classification is based on limited evidence suggesting a potential link to cancer, particularly liver cancer, in humans, as well as limited findings from animal studies.
IARC classifications reflect the strength of evidence about whether something could cause cancer, not the likelihood that it actually will. Group 2B is the third of four levels, and typically indicates either limited evidence in humans or sufficient evidence in animals, but not both. In other words, evidence of a link exists, but it’s weak.
In 2022, a large cohort study in France involving more than 100,000 participants examined the relationship between artificial sweeteners and cancer risk. The findings indicated that aspartame was linked to a 15% higher risk of cancer. However, the study did not establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship, and the results could be influenced by other factors such as participant behavior, confounding variables, or chance.
Research has indicated that aspartame may affect the gut microbiome, with potential consequences for metabolic health. Investigators at Cedars-Sinai reported that artificial sweeteners, including aspartame, are associated with various changes in different parts of the intestine. Compared with control groups, researchers observed meaningful differences in stool samples and intestinal microbial diversity.
Havovi Chichger, an associate professor at Anglia Ruskin University, previously told the Guardian: “There is now growing awareness of the health impacts of sweeteners such as saccharin, sucralose and aspartame, with our own previous work demonstrating the problems they can cause to the wall of the intestine and the damage to the ‘good bacteria’ which form in our gut.”
But while the science is still not definitive on showing a link between the artificial sweeteners in diet soda and cancer, there is no science that suggests diet soda can cure or prevent cancer.
Zachary Rubin, a Chicago-based pediatrician specializing in immunology, responded to the podcast by saying: “If Fanta is able to kill grass, then it could kill cancer cells, which means it must not be bad for you. Therefore, by the same logic, that would mean that bleach is a superfood, which we all know doesn’t make any sense.”
He then referenced Trump’s words during the Covid pandemic, when the president suggested alternative treatment methods such as injecting disinfectants and using “powerful light” inside the body.
“Maybe that’s why the president posted an AI image of himself in robes with glowing hands trying to heal somebody, because he thought that’s actually what doctors do,” Rubin joked.
Owais Durrani, an emergency physician based in Texas who previously worked in the Obama administration, responded to the podcast by posting: “Friendly reminder from a doctor, diet soda or soda does not kill cancer cells.”
