I often have patients ask if I think diet sodas are a healthy substitute for regular soft drinks. I tell them, “NO!” The primary reason, that I’ve discussed with you in a past blog, is that diet soda consumption may weaken bones and lead to later osteopenia, osteoporosis, and/or bone fractures.
Now, I have another reason to add: Research presented at the American Stroke Association International Stroke Conference earlier this year suggest that diet soda consumption may be linked to increased heart risks.
The study followed more than 2,500 New Yorkers for more than nine years.
The Los Angeles Times “Booster Shots” blog reported that participants “were asked about their intake of sodas (among other questions) at the start of the study. After nine years, 559 cardiovascular events had occurred.”
Researchers found that “those who had reported drinking diet soda every day had a 60% higher rate of these events, which included various forms of stroke as well as heart attacks.”
Medscape reported that “the risk persisted after controlling for metabolic syndrome, peripheral vascular disease, and cardiac disease history.”
So, for those of you who love diet sodas, it may be time to consider a far more healthy beverage … water.