Posted on 07/23/2007 3:13:48 PM PDT by HarmlessLovableFuzzball
TORONTO (CP) - For those who drink diet pops in the belief that sugar-free beverages are healthier than regular soft drinks, new research suggests they should think again.
A huge U.S. study of middle-aged adults has found that drinking more than one soft drink a day - even a sugar-free diet brand - may be associated with an elevated risk for metabolic syndrome, a cluster of factors that boosts the chance of having a heart attack or stroke and developing diabetes.
"We found that one or more sodas per day increases your risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome by about 45 per cent, and it did not seem to matter if it was regular or diet," Dr. Ramachandran Vasan, senior investigator for the Framingham Heart Study, said Monday from Boston.
"That for me is striking."
Metabolic syndrome is associated with five specific health indicators: excess abdominal fat; high blood sugar; high triglycerides; low levels of the good cholesterol HDL; and high blood pressure.
"And other than high blood pressure, the other four . . . all were associated with drinking one or more sodas per day," said Vasan, a professor of medicine at Boston University.
Having metabolic syndrome is known to double the risk of heart attack and stroke, as well as boosting the risk of diabetes.
The study included nearly 9,000 observations of middle-aged men and women over four years at three different times. The study looked at how many 355-millilitre cans of cola or other soft drinks a participant consumed each day.
The researchers found that compared to those who drank less than one can per day, subjects who downed one or more soft drinks daily had a:
-31 per cent greater risk of becoming obese (with a body mass index of 30 or more).
-30 per cent increased risk of adding on belly fat.
-25 per cent higher risk of developing high blood triglycerides or high blood sugar.
-32 per cent higher risk of having low HDL levels.
But Vasan and his colleagues, whose study was published Monday in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, are unsure what it is about soft drinks that ratchets up the risk of metabolic syndrome.
"We really don't know," he said. "This soda consumption may be a marker for a particular dietary pattern or lifestyle. Individuals who drink one or more sodas per day tend to be people who have greater caloric intake. They tend to have more of saturated fats and trans fats in their diet, they tend to be more sedentary, they seem to have lower consumption of fibre."
"And we tried to adjust for all of these in our analysis . . . but it's very difficult to completely adjust away lifestyle."
Dr. David Jenkins, director of the Risk Factor Modification Centre at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, said previous studies have suggested that diet pops did not have the same effects on weight and health as do naturally sweetened soft drinks.
"The unusual thing that needs comment is they (the study authors) say that the diet colas are the same as the calorically sweetened colas," said Jenkins. "So I think that is the piece that they've put into this puzzle . . . I think we need a lot more scrutiny of that."
Jenkins said he believes that high consumption of soft drinks likely goes along with eating a high-calorie diet.
"I think the disappointing thing is if you thought you were doing (yourself) a major service - which you always used to think - by taking diet drinks, this is not helping you," he said. "Before we were saying take the diet (drink) and you're OK. Now were saying: 'Watch it."'
The study also begs the question whether there is some ingredient in soft drinks - regular or diet - that may encourage metabolic syndrome.
But Dr. Arya Sharma, chair of cardiovascular obesity research at McMaster University, said there is nothing suggested by the authors of the study that would lead to that conclusion.
"One thing that they say and other people have said before is if you drink a lot of sweet things, then you are sort of conditioning yourself for that sweet taste," Sharma said Monday from Hamilton. "So people who drink diet pop may be eating other sweets, whether that comes in the form of dessert or other things, I don't know."
"It may be that people who are drinking diet pop - and we have this effect often with people who go on diets or when people go running or whatever - that you do a little bit of something that you think is good, and then you overcompensate by doing more of something that is bad."
"The idea could be because I'm drinking diet pap, I can afford to splurge on dessert."
Vasan said he cannot out-and-out recommend that people stop drinking soft drinks based on this study, because the findings are based on association, not clear cause and effect.
"The simple message is eat healthy, exercise regularly and everything should be done in moderation," he said. "If you're a regular soda drinker you should be aware that this study adds to the evidence that regular soda may be associated with metabolic consequences."
"If you're a diet soda drinker, stay tuned for additional research to confirm or refute these findings."
"We really don't know," he said. "This soda consumption may be a marker for a particular dietary pattern or lifestyle. Individuals who drink one or more sodas per day tend to be people who have greater caloric intake. They tend to have more of saturated fats and trans fats in their diet, they tend to be more sedentary, they seem to have lower consumption of fibre."
What a ridiculous, pathetic non story of a story !
It would make much more sense to state that folks with the genes for Type II diabetes drink one or more sodapops a day.
Some people obviously don't have enough to do.
Diet soda makes people fat. Have you ever seen anyone, not in an ad, drinking diet soda?
Not as a rule, of course, but it seems to me to be the case.
Yeah, well I went off ALL diet pop, aspurtame, chocolate and sugar about 8 weeks ago and it almost killed me! I had panic attacks. My doc wanted to put me on blood pressure meds, anti-depressant and lipitor.
Finally after about 3 weeks I felt better. Never did take any of that medicine and I’m thinking about changing drs. But there definitely is something to the aspurtame stuff. If I accidentally eat something with it in I get ill.
Glad I quit!
It’s garbage because they go on and on about the evils of soda (including ‘Diet’, which is why it caught my attention) and then in the end blame it on calorie rich foods that people tend to eat with their soda.
I guzzle down at least a two liter bottle of Diet Coke everyday.
The article is highly misleading. Drinking diet soda does not cause “metabolic syndrome” ... it’s just that those who drinik doet soda are moreds likely to have it.
Diet Coke is the new drug of choice for a lot of people.
There is almost a 50% chance of a person dying if they are alive. This is based upon firm scientific facts with world wide consensus. I think Al Gore is going to sign onto this study next week.
I have heard that diet sodas can still trick the body into producing insulin, just as it would if it was real sugar, and it messes up the caloric gauge, and makes people actually eat more, than if they had just drank the regular sugar drinks.
I remember when coffee was going to kill us. Now it turns out that not only is that not true, but coffee is one of the highest sources (ounce for ounce) of anti-oxidants of any food or beverage.
Most of the "researchers" in these studies went into them looking to back up their pre-conceived beliefs, so it's never surprising when, amazingly, the "study" proves them right.
Research has been shown to cause cancer in laboratory mice.
You just learned the hard way (withdrawal symptoms) that all that stuff is bad for your body. I have to laugh at FReepers who ridicule a healthy diet as if it was some stupid liberal idea that should be avoided.
Water, Tea and Beer: If it was good enough for the framers of the Constitution, it's good enough for me! ;-)
In all things....moderation.
I used to drink quite a lot of the stuff. When you get used to it- ‘full strength’ soda tastes cloyingly sweet. I quit drinking anything (with occasional and rare exceptions) other than black coffee and water- because I was on the verge of (yet another) heart attack.
*Now let me be clear, here.*
I’m NOT asserting that diet soda had anything to do with my then-impending heart attack. I had a crappy diet, ate too much of it, and didn’t get any appreciable exercise.
Since I am sick of heart surgeries, I decided to go on the offensive. Very lean, tightly managed diet, which is largely designed around supporting my daily workouts on the road and in the gym. Once I made the commitment, it wasn’t that hard to get off of the soda and cheeseburgers and pizza and whatnot. I really don’t miss any of it.
Nonsense. I drink 3-5 per day, and I’m out my ideal weight and my fasting glucose is very normal.
I haven’t drunk any soda in at least 5 years. I feel a lot better now that I just drink water, herbal tea and 100% fruit juices. I stay away as much as possible from aspartame, caffeine, excessive sugar, and especially high fructose corn syrup, which is one of the most harmful artificial ingredients ever created. Just Google “high fructose corn syrup” to see how bad this stuff is. Unfortunately, it’s in just about everything.
In many ways, diet soda is actually more harmful than regular. Sugar is bad, but aspartame is a cancer-causing ingredient that is probably worse.
I’m not a granola-crunching health nut, but I found that I don’t miss sodas at all.
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