Diet soda may help the waistline, but not your heart

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Diet sodas may have fewer calories for your waistline, but they don't reduce your risk of heart-related problems.

A Manhattan Study (NOMAS) presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference revealed that people who drank diet soda every day had a 61% higher risk of crippling diseases like stroke or heart disease. 

The study also found a 48 percent increase in stroke, heart attack or cardiovascular-related death for those who drank diet soda when all other factors were held constant.

Previous studies have suggested a link between diet soda consumption and the risk for metabolic syndrome and diabetes. But this is the first time diet drinks have been associated with vascular events.

What’s not yet clear is if there’s a chemical in diet sodas causing these diseases, or if people who drink diet sodas are more likely to have other behaviors that contribute to bad health.

The investigators acknowledge that additional studies are needed. The potential mechanisms for the association between diet soda and vascular events remain unknown, but doctors are definitely not saying that sugary drinks are better than diet drinks.

More research needs to be done, but consumers should think twice about what they choose the next time they get thirsty.

For now, you just can't beat plain water.



Source:  http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/737132