- Diet sodas have been marketed as a better drink choice than regular soda.
- New ads from major soda companies have promoted their efforts to reduce obesity, help with diabetes by releasing a product that has much fewer calories and less or no sugar compared to regular soda.
- But there is mounting evidence that diet sodas are in fact detrimental to our health.
- We have already seen how artificially sweetened drinks raise depression risk.
- Studies also show that diet drinks can actually make you fat,
- According to new research that is to be presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 63rd Annual Scientific Session, postmenopausal women who drink two or more diet drinks per day have an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, or other heart problems.
- Compared to women who don’t consume diet drinks or rarely consume them, those who had two or more a day had a 30 percent increase in risk of heart problems and were 50 percent more likely to die from that heart problem.
- With 59,614 participants, this becomes the largest study to observe the relationship between diet drinks and heart risks.
- “Our findings are in line with and extend data from previous studies showing an association between diet drinks and metabolic syndrome,” stated Ankur Vyas M.D., the lead investigator in the study. “We were interested in this research because there was a relative lack of data about diet drinks and cardiovascular outcomes and mortality.”
- The participants were asked to complete a questionnaire to gather the information on diet drink consumption. A diet drink was defined as a 12-ounce beverage, including both diet sodas and diet fruit drinks.
- The women were divided into four groups based on consumption:
- Group 1: 2 or more diet drinks per day
- Group 2: 5-7 diet drinks per day
- Group 3: 1-4 diet drinks per week
- Group 4: 0-3 diet drinks per month
- After a follow-up of about 8.7 years, coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, heart attack, coronary revascularization procedure, ischemic stroke, peripheral arterial disease and cardiovascular death occurred in 8.5 percent of the women in the group consuming two or more drinks per day, 6.9 percent in the five to seven drinks per week group, 6.8 percent in the one to four drinks group, and 7.2 percent in the 0-3 diet drinks per month group.
- However, Vyas says that the results raise more questions than they answer, and more research needs to be performed.
- “We only found an association, so we can’t say that diet drinks cause these problems,” Vyas said, also adding that there are other factors involved.
- “It’s too soon to tell people to change their behavior based on this study; however, based on these and other findings we have a responsibility to do more research to see what is going on and further define the relationship, if one truly exists,” Vyas explains. “This could have major public health implications.”
- Note: The content on our website is for educational purposes only. Please consult your health practitioner or a qualified expert.
- Diet soda makes you fat.
- Sugary drinks may increase depression risk.
- Aspartame the sweet and silent killer.
- Are you addicted to sugar?
- 7 dangers of artificial sweeteners.
- REFERENCES:
- 1. “Too Many Diet Drinks May Spell Heart Trouble for Older Women.” EurekAlert! American College of Cardiology, 29 Mar. 2014. Web. 05 Apr. 2014.
- 2. “Too Many Diet Drinks May Spell Heart Trouble for Older Women, Study Suggests.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 29 Mar. 2014. Web. 05 Apr. 2014.
- 3. “How Diet Soda Makes You Fat (and Other Food and Diet Industry Secrets).” Dr Mark Hyman. Dr Mark Hyman, 22 Feb. 2013. Web. 05 Apr. 2014.
- 4. “Consumption of Artificially and Sugar-sweetened Beverages and Incident Type 2 Diabetes in the Etude Epidémiologique Auprès Des Femmes De La Mutuelle Générale De L’Education Nationale–European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Cohort.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Mar. 2013. Web. 05 Apr. 2014.
