Just one fizzy drink a day can raise heart risk

It’s easy to reach for a can of pop when you’re trying to keep your alcohol intake down.

But having a sugarpacked lemonade or cola could be just as harmful to your health.

Research has suggested that having just one fizzy drink a day in middle age raises fat levels in the blood.

A study of almost 6,000 over 40s found those who drank 350ml of sugar-sweetened drinks a day – slightly bigger than a standard 330ml can – were 53 per cent more likely to have large amounts of dangerous fats called triglycerides. these collect in vessels and arteries and are a major cause of heart attacks and strokes.

Researchers from tufts University in the Us said sugary drinks could be a significant driver of dyslipidemia – a condition in which there are abnormal levels of fats and cholesterol in the blood.

Dyslipidemia is known as a ‘silent killer’ as many people are unaware until they suffer a stroke or heart attack. Researcher Professor Nicola McKeown said: ‘the results suggest high intake of drinks with added sugar, such as soda, lemonade or fruit punch, may influence risk for dyslipidemia as we age.

‘One dietary strategy to help maintain healthier blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels may be to avoid drinks with added sugars.’

Cardiovascular disease is the UK’s number one killer, claiming 170,000 lives a year.

It affects around seven million Britons and is responsible for one in four premature deaths.

the researchers tracked 5,900 middle-aged and elderly Us residents for about 12 years. High consumption of sugary drinks was linked to low levels of ‘good’ HDL cholesterol – and high levels of triglycerides that, measured every four years, were ‘ moving in the wrong direction’.

this remained the case even for the youngest participants who were still in their 40s.

Researcher Dr Danielle Haslam said: ‘ With these younger participants, we did see unfavourable changes, but they were likely too young during the short follow-up period to know if they would eventually develop dyslipidemia.’

the researchers also studied 100 per cent fruit juice and diet drinks – common replacements for sugar- sweetened beverages – but found no consistent associations with adverse changes in cholesterol and increased risk of dyslipidemia.

the study is published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Professor McKeown said: ‘We are better off quenching our thirst with water.

‘the emerging research on long-term consumption of diet soda on health is inconclusive, so it’s prudent to say diet drinks should only be an occasional indulgence.’

‘A silent killer’