Diet soda WARNING for women after menopause

(NaturalHealth365) On any given day, about 20% of the United States population consumes diet soda.  And, to be perfectly blunt, this is a serious problem – especially for postmenopausal women, as you’re soon see.

While these soft drinks are heavily marketed as a ‘healthier alternative’ to their sugar-filled counterparts, increasing amounts of scientific data indicate that diet sodas – filled with artificial sweetener and other unpronounceable chemicals – increase the risk for health problems ranging from heart disease to depression.

Now, in a new paper published by the American Heart Association’s peer-reviewed journal Stroke, a team of researchers have discovered a troubling way that diet soda consumption specifically affects women who have gone through menopause … and it’s not pretty.

Postmenopausal women who drink diet soda have higher risk of heart disease, stroke and premature death

The study featured (today) was just published in Feb. 2019.  In it, researchers analyzed health outcomes of 81,714 postmenopausal women who were part of a multi-center longitudinal project known as the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study.

After ten years of follow up, the researchers determined the following: “Higher intake of [artificially sweetened beverages] was associated with increased risk of stroke, particularly small artery occlusion subtype, coronary heart disease, and all-cause mortality.”

We can break down this substantial finding even more. Consider the following:

• Women who consumed the highest amounts of diet soda had significantly greater likelihood of all negative health outcomes (with the exception of hemorrhagic stroke) compared to women who were classified as “infrequent” consumers. The researchers defined infrequent consumers as women who either never drank artificial soda or drank less than 1 serving per week.
• Ischemic stroke (caused by lack of blood flow to the brain) was significantly more likely to occur in obese women (body mass index ≥30) who reported a higher consumption of diet soda.
• But even women with no prior history of heart disease or diabetes had a two-fold increased risk for ischemic stroke if they regularly drank diet soda.

Let’s NOT toast to THIS: Discover the other surprising effects of beverages containing artificial sweeteners

To be clear, refined sugar isn’t good.  By all accounts it really does deserve the bogeyman status it’s gained over the past many years.  But, artificial sweeteners are NOT better.

As mentioned before, some research indicates that diet sodas have been linked with an increased risk of depression and heart disease.  But the trouble doesn’t stop there.  Other potential issue caused by diet soda consumption include:

• Increased inflammation
• Increased cravings for high-calorie and nutrient poor foods
• Increased risk of overeating
• Headaches

The available literature isn’t totally in agreement about how much diet soda impacts health.  As always, conventional science will say ‘more research needs to be done’ to clarify results.

In the meantime, you certainly aren’t going to harm your health by opting for healthier options like clean (pure) water with a squeeze of organic lemon juice or a fresh carrot/apple juice.

Remember, staying well-hydrated (with healthy drinks) is always a smart move for a happy life.

Sources for this article include:

Medicalnewstoday.com
AHAjournals.org
Consumperreports.org
CDC.gov