Consumption of artificially sweetened beverages like diet
soda is associated with elevated risk for cardiovascular disease,
suggests an observational study in Stroke.
As part
of the Women's Health Initiative, researchers asked 80,000 women aged
50 to 79 about their consumption of artificially sweetened beverages
over the past 3 months and followed them for a mean of 12 years.
After
multivariable adjustment, consumption of two or more artificially
sweetened beverages a day was associated with higher risks for ischemic
stroke (hazard ratio, 1.31), coronary heart disease (HR, 1.29), and
all-cause mortality (HR, 1.16), compared with drinking less than one a
week. The findings remained significant when women with cardiovascular
disease or diabetes were excluded.
Editorialists
emphasize that water is the best substitute for sugar-sweetened
beverages. However, if artificially sweetened beverages are used to help
patients limit sugary beverages, they "should be viewed as a
time-limited intermediate in the transition to water and other healthier
beverages."
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