Diet Sodas Linked to Vascular Trouble

Credit: Rawich / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Many people see diet soft drinks as a good alternative to high calorie, sugary sodas. Could consuming too many diet sodas however pose a health risk? A study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine suggests that drinking diet sodas daily increases your chances of having a vascular event. Vascular events are blood vessel related incidents and include heart attack, stroke and vascular death. The results of the study showed that those who drank diet sodas daily had a 43 percent increased chance of suffering a vascular event than those who drank no diet sodas. Interestingly enough, it was also found that those who drank regular sodas had no increased chance of suffering a vascular event.

According to researcher Hannah Gardener, "Our results suggest a potential association between daily diet soft drink consumption and vascular outcomes. However, the mechanisms by which soft drinks may affect vascular events are unclear." It was also discovered that there was no link between light diet soda consumption and vascular event occurrence. Light diet drinkers were considered to be those who drank between one and six diet sodas a week.

Learn more about this discovery:

• Are Diet Soft Drinks Bad For You? Springer