Diet soda was introduced by beverage companies like Coca cola and Pepsi to give diet conscious people an option to enjoy their favorite soda. Diet soda has appealed people watching their calorie intake, but has been criticized for not tasting as good as the regular soda. A study enlightened that diet soda can increase your risk for heart attack or stroke. There was no reason found for the increase heart risk due to diet soda, but it raises enough questions about health benefit of diet soda.
About the study
A study was conducted at Northern Manhattan. In the study about 2,500 adults were enrolled over 40 in the New York area from 1993 to 2001 through random phone calls. The study consisted of 50% Hispanic and 25% black, making it one of the few studies to look at these risks in minorities. At the start of the study, participants were asked to fill out a standard survey and their health was tracked for nearly 10 years. Total of 559 strokes were observed during the course of study, in which 338 of them fatal.
The study found 48% higher risk of stroke or heart attack in daily diet soda drinkers (there were 116 in the study) as compared to people who drank no soda of any kind (901 people, or 35 percent of total participants). The risk factors to heart attack such as smoking, diabetes, waistline size and other differences among the groups were also taken into account.
No significant differences in risk were seen among people who drank a mix of diet...
and regular soda.
Is this study conclusive?
Study owners do not claim that the evidence provided by the study was full proof, but Dr. Steven Greenberg, Harvard Medical School neurologist and vice chairman of the International Stroke Conference in California commented that the beverage findings should be “a wakeup call to pay attention to diet sodas.”
American Dietetic Association had different though regarding the study and acknowledged that “The body of scientific evidence does show that diet soft drinks can be a useful weight management tool, a position supported by the American Dietetic Association. Thus, to suggest that they are harmful with no credible evidence does a disservice to those trying to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.”
I think the study warrants more detailed investigation or bigger trial to support or reject the findings from latest study. Diet soda may help you watch your carbs, but I can’t image that general, drinking too much of soda can be healthy for your body.