Researchers here at CFL have been among the growing number of professionals beating the drum about the adverse health risks of synthetic sweeteners like Aspartame for many, many years now.  If the other health risks associated with synthetic sweeteners like Aspartame are not enough to dissuade consumers, perhaps this latest study will…the findings of this recent scientific study indicate that consuming diet soda containing synthetic sweeteners is not only linked to an increased risk for Alzheimer disease and dementia, but may actually triple the risk of a deadly stroke.  Wow.  Those risks hardly make it worth it.

Daily dose of diet soda tied to triple risk of deadly stroke

News.com.au

According to a new study, just one diet drink a day can triple the risk of a deadly stroke, with researchers also finding the beverages have a “worrying association” with dementia.

The team of researchers from Boston’s University School of Medicine, said people who consume a can of artificially-sweetened soft drink a day were at three times the risk of suffering the most common form of stroke compared to non-drinkers.

The US study also indicated that diet soft drink fans were 2.9 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s. But after accounting for all lifestyle factors, the researchers found the link to dementia was statistically insignificant, however, the impact on stroke risk remained.

The study looked at ten years’ worth of data from more than 4,300 people…

.

“Drinking at least one artificially sweetened beverage daily was associated with almost three times the risk of developing stroke or dementia compared to those who drank artificially sweetened beverages less than once a week.

“After adjustments for age, sex, education (for analysis of dementia), calorific intake, diet quality, physical activity and smoking, higher recent and higher cumulative intake of artificially sweetened soft drinks were associated with an increased risk of ischaemic stroke, all-cause dementia and Alzheimer’s disease dementia.”  –Stroke scientific journal of the American Heart Association

.

Diet drinks contain next-to-no calories, because they use artificial sweeteners…There is public concern about some sweeteners, with scientists across the world arguing that low-calorie substitutes may lead to weight gain and increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes…

Aspartame is the sweetener most used in diet drinks, and is also the most controversial.

…

See also:  Why you should stop drinking diet soft drink

.

The study on sugary drinks was published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia, while the study on artificially sweetened drinks was published in the journal Stroke.

Journal reference:  Pase, M., et al. (2017) Sugar- and Artificially Sweetened Beverages and the Risks of Incident Stroke and Dementia: A Prospective Cohort Study, Stroke Journal, American Heart Association.   https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.116.016027                                      

Stroke. 2017;STROKEAHA.116.016027