Drinking diet sodas and your health
Q: I gave up sugary sodas and got used to drinking diet ones. Now I hear they’re not good for my health either. What’s up with that? – Kaylie G., Tampa, Fla.
A: Good question! Pop is everywhere: there’s Iggy Pop, pop-up fly balls – and soda pop. But no matter what you think about those popular parts of American life, only one is linked to health hazards: that’s soda pop, both sweetened and diet. (Well, Iggy Pop could be hard on your hearing!)
Drinking sugar-added beverages is a known risk for obesity, and drinking one to two cans daily puts you at a 26 per cent greater risk of Type 2 diabetes. And an observational study in the journal Stroke reveals that artificially sweetened beverages may be a health risk, too: Researchers found that those who drink at least one diet soda daily are 2.9 times more likely to have an ischemic stroke and three times more likely to develop dementia than abstainers.
Now, it may be that folks who are overweight and have Type 2 diabetes or heart disease give up sugary sodas for diet versions – and then develop health problems, like stroke and dementia, that are repercussions of their chronic medical conditions.
So the researchers want to make it clear: in this study, the association of diet soda to dementia and stroke doesn’t mean that it causes those conditions or that giving it up can help you avoid them. Instead it’s a red flag, saying “Hey, what’s going on with your health?”
So if you’re a diet-soda drinker (Dr. Mike was – 36 cans a day before his assistant Beth and Dr. Oz intervened in 2010; his last soda of any kind was 9/4/10 at 4:30 p.m.), it’s time to assess your health and stress levels, and make a plan to get in 10,000 steps a day (dispels stress, burns fat and tones muscle), eat five to nine servings of produce daily (fights heart disease and diabetes) and rely on water, coffee and tea for your beverages. mehmet oz, m.D. is host of “the Dr. oz Show,” and mike Roizen, m.D. is chief Wellness officer and chair of Wellness institute at cleveland clinic. Email your health and wellness questions to Dr. oz and Dr. Roizen at youdocsdaily@sharecare.com.