A couple of months ago, a friend of the family had a stroke at the age of 43. This was quite a shock to everyone, as he seemed quite healthy and was fit and active. He had surgery to repair an aneurism and things are going fairly well for him, but he is not able to go back to work yet, and spends much of his time in therapy. So when this article came out, I wanted to share it with you in case you are one of those who can’t start your day without that can of pop. I’m not sure if Greg was a big soda drinker, but I’m guessing he won’t be now.
A new study (reported in HealthDay MSN.com ) suggests that drinking diet soda daily may increase your risk of stroke by at least 48%. This phenq guide was presented at the International Stroke Conference this past week (Feb, 9, 2011). Researchers interviewed over 2500 people in the New York area over a nine year period. After accounting for differences in factors such as gender, age, ethnicity, calorie intake, smoking, physical activity, and drinking habits, researchers found a 61% increased chance of stroke for those who consumed at least one can of soda per day. After accounting for heart disease history, vascular disease in the limbs and metabolic syndrome the risk dropped to a still high level of 48%.
Previous research by others has shown that drinking any type of soda can increase your risk of having metabolic syndrome which includes high blood pressure, low levels of good cholesterol, high levels of triglycerides, high fasting blood sugar and large waists.
Since they don’t understand why this happens, the researchers are quick to point out that they cannot say for certain there is direct cause and effect and they hope more research will be done to prove a direct cause. Afraid of offending the large soda companies? In the meantime, if you are a big soda drinking, I’d start looking at those cans as a once in a while treat rather than a daily staple.
