Just 2 fizzy diet drinks a day raises a woman’s heart risk
DIET drinks severely increase the risk of heart attack and stroke among middle - aged women, research suggests.
Experts said ‘well-meaning people’ believe artificiallysweetened drinks are less bad for them than sugary ones – but the products could actually be putting them at risk.
A study of 82,000 women aged 50 to 79 found those who drank two or more cans of diet drink a day were 29 per cent more likely to suffer a heart attack within 12 years than those who consumed less than one can a week.
Their risk of a stroke went up 23 per cent and their risk of death increased 16 per cent.
The scientists, writing in the Stroke medical journal, advised it would be wise to drink water instead. They said obese people – the group most likely to use artificial sweeteners – were particularly at risk, with chances of a stroke doubling if they drank more than two cans a day.
Diet drinks, and the artificial sweeteners they contain, are marketed as a way of reducing calorie and sugar intake. But experts are concerned at growing evidence that artificial sweeteners alter the body’s metabolism, increasing the speed at which sugar is absorbed into blood cells.
Drinks manufacturers and many doctors contest this theory, pointing out that studies may be skewed because those who drink diet products could be choosing those drinks because they are unhealthy to begin with.
The researchers behind the new study, however, said there were ‘manifold’ ways diet drinks could be doing people harm.
They pointed to studies which have shown sweeteners can increase insulin resistance, weight gain and glucose intolerance.
Study leader Dr Yasmin Mossavar-Rahmani, of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, said: ‘Our research and other observational studies have shown that artificially sweetened beverages may not be harmless and high consumption is associated with a higher risk of stroke and heart disease.’
The scientists analysed data from a project following the lives of 82,000 US women, aged 50 to 79 at the start of the study, who were tracked for an average of 12 years.
Because the data only included middle-aged women, they could not say if the findings would apply to men or younger women. But there is no suggestion only women over 50 are at risk.
Professor Rachel Johnson, of the American Heart Association, said: ‘Since long-term clinical trial data are not available on the effects of low-calorie sweetened drinks and cardiovascular health, given their lack of nutritional value, it may be prudent to limit their … use.’
But Tracy Parker, senior dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘Although this study rightly suggests that diet drinks don’t do us any good, it’s observational.
‘This means we don’t know why these drinks might be linked to an increased risk of heart and circulatory disease. To definitively understand the link … more research is needed.’
Gavin Partington, director general of the British Soft Drinks Association, said: ‘This study claims association between diet drinks and increased risk of stroke, but does not provide evidence of cause. In March 2017, the UK Government and Public Health England endorsed the use of low-calorie sweeteners as a safe alternative to reduce sugar in food and drink.’
‘Altering the body’s metabolism’