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Diet Soda Increases Risk of Stroke, Heart Attack

  • Spence Cooper
  • March 13, 2012

A recent study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, suggests drinking diet soda daily significantly increases the risk of developing a stroke, heart attack and other serious vascular issues.

The study monitored soda drinking in 2,564 north Manhattan residents (36% men, mean age 69€‰±€‰10, 20% white, 23% black, 53% Hispanic)over a 10-year period.

Based on the research, those who drank diet soda on a daily basis were 43 percent more likely to suffer a stroke or heart attack than the control group, even if pre-existing vascular conditions existed.

Hannah Gardener, the study’s lead researcher, claims the study results suggest a potential association between daily diet soft drink consumption and vascular outcomes. But warns the mechanisms by which soft drinks may affect vascular events are unclear.

Dr. Nehal N. Mehta, director of inflammatory risk cardiology at the University of Pennsylvania, said this is the second study to associate diet soda with health issues.

An earlier study found that diet soda consumption was linked to an increased risk of metabolic syndrome, which is also a risk factor for heart problems and stroke.

As Jill Ettinger with the Huffington Post points out, artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and saccharin, which are commonly found in most diet sodas, have long been connected with health issues including tinnitus, headaches, nervous system disorders and certain types of cancer.

“People with a lot of risk factors for vascular disease, might want to reduce the amount of diet soda they consume,”said Dr. Tudor Jovin, an associate professor of neurology and medicine and director of the Stroke Institute at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

“Those risk factors would include high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking, a family history of cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and a history of cardiovascular events”

Cancer Risk Linked to Regular Coke and Pepsi

Diet Soda Increases Risk of Stroke, Heart AttackAlthough researchers in the diet soda study found no increased risk of stroke, heart attack and other serious vascular issues among people who drank regular soda, in another separate study, the Center for Science in the Public Interest recently warned the chemical responsible for the artificial caramel coloring used in ALL colas is a known carcinogen.

The artificial brown coloring in colas and some other products is made by reacting sugars with ammonia and sulfites under high pressure and temperatures. Chemical reactions result in the formation of carcinogens.

Pepsi, Diet Coke and regular Coca-Cola had levels that were high enough to require a warning notice in the state of California, and the chemical was included on California’s list of carcinogens.

Soda water with lime, anyone?

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