People Who Drink This Popular Soda Have A Much Higher Risk Of Stroke, Research Suggests
Drink Drippy | Unsplash Put the Diet Coke down. I repeat, put the Diet Coke down.
You’re probably aware that research has proven that drinking soda is bad for you, but your choice to go on a Diet Coke binge isn’t much better, no matter how much of the stuff our own President drinks. Sure, diet soda is marketed to have no calories or sugar, but what exactly is it that you’re drinking? It’s carbonated syrup with artificial, mystery ingredients, and comes with some major risk factors, too.
Drinking diet soda triples your risk of stroke, according to research
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Why are people drinking diet soda in the first place? It has absolutely no nutritional value, right? I personally don't even taste a difference between diet and regular soda (don't come at me), which is a little scary because it feels like they add so much more to compensate for it being diet when it's much more harmful to you.
The marketing behind diet soda is what makes it that much more insidious. It's sold to us as the responsible choice. This framing of being 'the healthier swap' has worked so well on millions of us that we drink it daily without really questioning what is or isn't included that makes it the healthier choice.
But people drink their diet soda despite the lack of sense that it makes to do so. And these people, it turns out, are three times more likely to suffer from a stroke and dementia.
According to research from Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, drinking just one diet drink a day can triple the chances of a deadly stroke. Researchers have also found links to dementia, but British authorities say that it needs further investigation.
The US-based study found that people who consume one diet soda per day triple their chances of suffering a stroke compared to people who don’t consume any diet drinks
In the same study, it was found that people who consume one diet soda per day are also 2.9 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s. )When looking further into the dementia argument, though, researchers found that the data were insignificant, so take that with a grain of salt.)
Researchers from Boston University looked at over ten years of data on over 4,000 people, and spokesman Tam Fry said regarding soda assessment: “Don’t be fooled by the use of the word ‘diet.’” Professor from Public Health England, Louis Levy, also cautioned: “This study doesn’t show the full picture and more evidence is needed before any definite conclusions can be drawn.”
Meanwhile, Dr. James Pickett from the Alzheimer’s Society said, “This research does not show that artificially sweetened drinks cause dementia. But it does highlight a worrying association that requires further investigation.”
Diet drinks aren't great — consuming them has also been associated with causing weight gain, diabetes, and heart issues. If you drink a lot of soda, especially diet soda, it might be time to skip the diet stuff and opt for water or tea. But in terms of vices, is ordering a cold fountain diet every once in a while the worst of them? Probably not.
Shannon Ullman is a writer who focuses on travel and adventure, women's health, pop culture, and relationships. Her work has appeared in the Huffington Post, MSN, and Matador Network.
