It's odd to me that zero-calorie sodas aren't the default by now.
Can you elaborate on what you mean?
You're suspicious that sweetened drinks are more harmful than advertised? Less harmful? Something else?
They could cause various diseases, or could confuse your metablic system, because your body thinks it is getting calories because the food is sweet, but then the calories are not there so you could actually get an energy drop from it.
Allulose seems promising, I'd love to find some pop sweetened with it.
Aspertame, stevia, whatever else have been around for a just a few decades and in heavy use for less than that. My fear is it isn't just adding sweetness but doing other metabolic things we don't yet appreciate.
I drink sugar-free (or occasionally, low-sugar variants like Olipop) soda from time to time but I find I'm drinking way less soda -- and everything else except maybe water and coffee -- these days. Being on a dietary protocol for early T2D has brought my liquid cravings way, way down.