Is my Coke Zero better or worse than regular Coca-Cola

Coke_zero.03

It's a daily thing for me, well at least at work, to grab a Coke Zero from the vendor downstairs on my break.  I must admit that the new black look gives drinking it a more "masculine" feel than you standard "diet" drinks which is why I gravitate toward it.   It also gives me a nice boost of energy from the caffine and it's zero calories perfect for my figure, right?

There's been many debates if diet sodas really curb obesity.  It's that mentality, "if it's no calores, I can have limitless amounts of it."  My question tends to go deeper, is it better to drink these diet drinks vs. regular soda?

This brings me to another issue..."aspartame".  You've had emails about it before.  Maybe you read an article on it in newsprint or on the web.  Basically it's a sweetener, that has gained a lot of attention.  People have been associating "aspartame" with brain tumors and such.  I even have a friend who only drinks diet Pepsi, no water, no milk, no juice, just diet Pepsi.  He did this for years, then suddenly he had some kind of growth at the base of his skull.  He recently underwent brain surgery to remove the growth and they said it wasn't cancer but...that's too coincidental.  Now there's no scientific fact that aspartame is linked to cancer as Snopes has pointed out, but is it worth taking a chance?  I for one believe in moderation.  I'm hoping that my one day can won't have a huge impact on my physical being, but for peace of mind I'll probably have one every other day and stick to 'ol realiable...good 'ol fashion H2O.