One fizzy drink a day may shorten your life

JUST one sugary drink a day pushes up the risk of an early death, a major study suggests.

Downing fizzy pop and sugar-packed energy drinks significantly increases the chance of dying from heart disease and cancer, researchers warn.

They found those who drank one standard glass, bottle or can of sugar-sweetened beverage a day were 14 per cent more likely to die during the study period than those who consumed less than one a month.

Drinking two sugary drinks a day increased the risk to 21 per cent while each additional daily drink on top of this pushed up the risk even more, they said.

experts who tracked nearly 120,000 people in the US for three decades said drinking water was the best option.

The study led by the Harvard School of Public Health is the first to definitively find a link between sugary drinks and an early death. it also found that swapping one sugary drink for a diet drink each day slightly cut the risk.

but the team stressed that this did not mean artificially sweetened drinks were completely safe as those who consumed more than four diet drinks a day had an increased risk of early death.

Study leader Dr vasanti Malik said: ‘Drinking water in place of sugary drinks is a healthy choice that could contribute to longevity. Diet soda may be used to help frequent consumers of sugary drinks cut back consumption but water is the best and healthiest choice.’

The researchers found that each daily sugary drink increased the risk of cardiovascular deaths by 19 per cent and cancer deaths by 12 per cent.

in a report in the Circulation medical journal, they said high sugar levels also drove up the risk of obesity, high blood pressure and type two diabetes. Health officials in the UK are desperate to reduce consumption of fizzy drinks, especially by the young.

The average can of fizzy drink contains nearly eight teaspoons of sugar, more than an adult’s entire daily allowance.

Last year the Government introduced a soft drinks levy to encourage companies to reduce sugar levels in products and to cut consumption by increasing price.

Gavin Partington, director general of the british Soft Drinks Association, said: ‘Soft drinks are safe as part of a balanced diet.

‘Soft drinks is the only category to have already hit Public Health england’s calorie- reduction target of 20 per cent by 2020.

‘According to all leading health authorities in the world, low- and no-calorie sweeteners are safe.

‘in 2017, the UK Government endorsed low-calorie sweeteners as a safe alternative to reduce sugar in food and drink and help people manage their weight.’