Longtime listeners may know that Clark is addicted to diet soda, particularly Coke Zero. His soft drink of choice is sweetened with acesulfame potassium and aspartame -- much to the dismay of foodies and health food types who write in to express concern that he's slowly poisoning himself with artificial sweeteners.

Soft drink makers are very aware of the image problem posed by their use of artificial sweeteners. Enter stevia -- a natural plant-derived zero-calorie sweetener that's 200 times sweeter than sugar. Stevia has now been approved by the FDA for use in food and beverages.

Coke and Pepsi are both understandably excited about this new development. Coke is planning to use stevia in Sprite, while Pepsi is rolling it out in Tropicana and other beverages.

The jury is still out on what harm if any artificial sweeteners can do to the human body. But at least now there will be an all-natural alternative on the market!