Diet soda increases heart attack risk

Diet soda and too much salt increases the stroke and heart attack risk

10.02.2011

People who drink a lot of diet soda or cola increase the risk of suffering a stroke or heart attack. This is what US researchers at the University of Miami found out from a survey study. The risk of cardiovascular disease increased with regular consumption by 61 percent.

Many people resort to diet soft drinks to reduce or maintain body weight. But the low-calorie drinks increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular diseases when diet drinks are consumed daily. To this realization scientists of the „University of Miami“ in a survey study with a total of 2564 participants.

For more than nine years, researchers investigated consumer behavior and onset of vascular disease. It turned out that those who drank a lot and often diet lemonade, had a 61 percent higher risk of disease. Why that is so, the scientists could not explain, however, this would have to follow analytical investigations. Study author Hannah Gardener concluded that diet drinks are unlikely to provide an optimal substitute for sugary drinks to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. In the course of the observational study, one had come to the opposite conclusion.

The scientists presented the study results during the worldwide stroke conference in Los Angeles. During the long-term study, vascular damage was diagnosed among the 2564 participants in a total of 559 cases. To isolate the data, other harmful factors were taken into account. These included alcohol consumption, cigarette consumption, diet, lifestyle and sports.

High salt intake damages the cardiovascular system
But not only diet soft drinks harm the vessels. During the conference, the researchers presented another study with a total of 2657 subjects. The scientists around Hannah Gardener took a closer look at daily salt consumption. Again, it has been shown that excessive salt intake increases the risk of vascular disease. Those who consumed over ten grams of salt daily (four grams of sodium) were twice as likely to have a stroke as those who consumed only four grams a day. Subsequently, the research team was aghast that too much salt harmed people. In any case, the risk of developing a stroke increases, even if underlying conditions such as hypertension were not present, so Gardener.

The US health organization and authorities recommend a daily salt intake of a maximum of six grams. The need for a healthy adult is only 2g to 3g of saline per day. However, daily consumption is often exceeded in western industrial nations. Sometimes people take up to 12 grams a day. This is mainly because many fast foods and ready meals usually already have a high salt content. Health experts therefore advise to abstain from the additional salting of food as far as possible. The daily requirement 3 g saline (NaCl) corresponds to about 1 level teaspoon and contains 1.2 g sodium (Na).

Read about soft drinks, diet and health:
Dangerous substances in soft drinks
Sugary drinks carcinogenic?
Diet in Naturopathy
Helps to drink water while losing weight?

Picture: motograph