Photo: star5112, Flickr

Many people ditch regular soda for the diet variety to cut calories on the path to sustainable weight loss. But you may want to jump straight to water, especially if you're in Venezuela.

Venezuela has banned Coke Zero, claiming it's a health hazard. So what if it has no calories, says Health Minister Jesus Mantilla, who claims Coca-Cola has failed to list on the product the artificial sweetener sodium cyclamate, reportedly responsible for causing cancer and male reproductive problems.

Coca-Cola says Coke Zero is sweetened with a combination of acesulfame-K and aspartame, not sodium cyclamate, which has been banned in the U.S. for 40 years. "In my opinion, the banning of diet sodas can be considered nothing but a good thing," holistic nutritionist Doug DiPasquale says on That's Fit.ca. "The data behind the safety of all artificial sweeteners is questionable at best. Stick with natural, less-processed sweeteners whenever possible."

And in case you need another reason to trade your diet soda for no cost, no calorie water: Artificial sweeteners have also been tied to weight gain. Is water too plain? Here's some ideas to naturally flavor it to help you make the switch.