In the constant pursuit of reducing our weight using all types of unhealthy methods, and artificial sweeteners, in particular, we may very well be going in a dangerous direction. Professional researchers have identified that artificially sweetened beverages, such as diet soda, might escalate the chances of a person getting dementia or having a stroke.
Research released from the health journal Stroke, which is part of the American Heart Association, discovered that consistent daily diet soda drinking puts an individual at upwards of 3 times the danger of getting dementia or having a stroke versus somebody that consumes no more than one diet soda per week.
This is just one more setback for diet soda. In recent years diet drinks have been the focus of several reports that exhibited risks to our health. In 2013, Purdue University identified that diet soda and diet drinks often don’t really assist us in getting slimmer. An additional study in Boston conducted nearly a decade ago uncovered that people that have diet soda aren’t at any less risk of cardiovascular problems than people who consume normal non-diet soda.
Furthermore, the Stroke journal findings revealed that ingesting drinks with high sugar content will not directly increase an individual’s likelihood of developing dementia or having a stroke. That’s not to say it’s a good reason to consume sugary beverages. Harvard studies have associated drinking lots of beverages with high sugar contents to heart disease and diabetes.
Dr. Matthew Pase, from the school of medicine at Boston University and the author of the study stated:
“Although we did not find an association between stroke or dementia and the consumption of sugary drinks, this certainly does not mean they are a healthy option…We recommend that people drink water on a regular basis instead of sugary or artificially sweetened beverages.”
Professionals analyzed 45-year-old or older individuals on their eating and drinking activities. This was done over a 7-year span with thousands of people. These researchers checked in 10 years down the road to determine if anyone had suffered a stroke or had developed dementia. The information was modified for several variables, such as the participant’s gender, age, and the number of calories they typically consume.
The research simply followed the pattern involving artificial sweeteners, stroke, and dementia, but was not able to conclusively verify that artificial drinks had been the cause of the medical conditions.
The head Doctor of the study further stated that the overall threat and danger for getting dementia and stroke from the artificial sweeteners in diet soda is not enormous.
“Even if someone is three times as likely to develop stroke or dementia, it is by no means a certain fate…In our study, 3% of the people had a new stroke and 5% developed dementia, so we’re still talking about a small number of people developing stroke or dementia.”
The ABA (American Beverage Association) mentioned in a statement that many other aspects of our modern life bring about the suffering from dementia and possibility of having a stroke.
“Low-calorie sweeteners have been proven safe by worldwide government safety authorities as well as hundreds of scientific studies and there is nothing in this research that counters this well-established fact…The (U.S. Food and Drug Administration), World Health Organization, European Food Safety Authority and others have extensively reviewed low-calorie sweeteners and have all reached the same conclusion – they are safe for consumption.”
It’s better to be safe than sorry, and on diet soda, we would caution to keep it at one per week if you find the need to drink it at all. Please check out our further information on diet soda and how it’s dangerous.
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