Daily Diet Soda Linked to Increased Risk for Stroke and Heart Attack

[Stuart G]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41479869/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/


By Linda Carroll
msnbc.com contributor msnbc.com contributor

updated 2/10/2011 9:36:39 AM ET 2011-02-10T14:36:39

• The study, which followed more than 2,500 New Yorkers for nine or more years, found that people who drank diet soda every day had a 61 percent higher risk of vascular events, including stroke and heart attack , than those who completely eschewed the diet drinks, according to researchers who presented their results today at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference in Los Angeles.

Still, the researchers aren’t ready to tell consumers to skip diet sodas. More studies need to be done before that happens, said the report’s lead author Hannah Gardener, an epidemiologist at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

That advice may not stop some from skipping their diet drinks. “This is pretty scary,” said Denise Gainey, a 49-year-old administrative assistant from Amelia, Va. Worried that she might have inherited a higher risk of heart disease, Gainey wants to be careful. “I guess I’ll just be drinking a lot more water,” she said.

For the new study, researchers surveyed 2,564 north Manhattan residents about their eating behaviors, exercise habits, as well as cigarette and alcohol consumption. The study volunteers were also given physical check-ups that included blood pressure measurements and blood tests for cholesterol and other factors that might affect the risk for heart attack and stroke ....(complete article at link)

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My reaction to this is to give up diet drinks. I have too many cardio vascular risk factors to play around with this.
While a switch to orange juice will cost a lot more, that switch is likely to be a lot healthier for me.

[wtmusic]

1. Researchers "weren’t able to account for unhealthy eating habits"

but of course including that in the headline wouldn't get nearly as many people to click.

[Stuart G]

2. There was also potential or possible link to cancer...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x589135

That thread, started yesterday by roxiejules....
and is in this forum...
focuses on that .. cancer aspect...

[speltwon]

11. exactly. a substantial portion of those who drink diet sodas

are going to be those who are obese or have poor diets and use diet sodas as at least a step towards trying to eat more healthily, and avoid the sugar in regular sodas. Iow, unless you account for other factors, it is beyond meaningless. It would be like saying those that use nicotine patches are more likely to have damaged lungs. That's because those that use nicotine patches are usually former or quitting smokers. If you took groups of people who were otherwise similar in their dietary habits etc. and then had half of them drink diet soda daily and half of them not, then the study might be a little better.

[wtmusic]

12. Yup, and just the fact that everyone was a "North Manhattan resident"

makes for pretty sketchy science

Welcome to DU speltwon!

:bounce: :toast: :bounce:

[speltwon]

13. thx. Bad science sucks and this study is that.nt

[Warpy]

3. My reaction is "Oh, bosh."

I think the one factor they missed is obesity. People who have packed on some extra pounds are more likely to reach for the diet soft drinks than the annoying people who can eat everything and never gain an ounce.

In any case, the researcher's own words tell the truth about this one: “'I think diet soda drinkers need to stay tuned,” Gardener said. “I don’t think that anyone should be changing their behaviors based on one study. Hopefully this will motivate other researchers to do more studies.'”

[wtmusic]

5. +1. nt

[Stuart G]

6. About a tiny bit of something affecting a person's health..proof..

In the 40s and early 50s a doctor, whose practice specialized in arthritis, saw an amazing corelation between his patients and a lowering rate of heart disease. Much lower rate then the rest of the population...Why? They smoked, drank, and did a lot of the same stuff that the rest of the population did except one huge difference.

His conclusion was that the only reason this could be was the substance that was being used to medicate those patients. a cheep, over the counter drug called aspirin .....yea..

Forty years later, Bayer, a producer of the stuff, proved that it did indeed lower significantly rates of heart disease..No one else even cared enough to try to test out that doctors theory.. Who was going to make money on selling aspirin??

So, yea, let's wait a while for verifiying studies that diet drinks cause additional harm. You can wait..
I am switching to water, orange juice, or whatever.. Let them find their conclusions on someone else..

[jtrockville]

4. I avoid Aspartame

http://www.newswithviews.com/NWVexclusive/exclusive15.htm

[swilton]

7. What do you expect?

With Rumsfeld on the board that manufactures artificial sweetners.

[Supply Side Jesus]

8. WHat a bunch of cooked up "research"

Besides their research methods, which aren't, I have serious issues with this scaredy study.

Why I drink Diet soda everyday and never experience these suposskdp'snf rgnrl gqemrgqf ,ma v....
mbnfk .,dfv;bfdkngRHHHHHHHHHHHHHQR H:Rhr['eroj4Nmk;d.f...............................

[Stuart G]

9. Drugs later withdrawn for unforseen outcomes...Have fun with this list..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_withdrawn_drugs

Yep the government approves stuff and later is forced to withdrawal the stuff.

Diet soda..now that is a fairly large business.
a few million???........or is it billion???
Think about who loses if people switch from soda to say ...water???...

[snagglepuss]

10. I was a diet coke addict but gave up several years ago. Before doing the

juice route that really puts on pounds (and I say this from experience), try making your own green tea ice tea. Before gagging read on. I had green tea tea bags for a year in my cupboard because even the thought of it did not appeal to me. I bought them on an impulse having read how very healthy it is but that wasn't enough to motivate me to drink it:( Luckily I came across an article about green tea which said the best way to make iced green tea is not to seep the tea in boiling water but to seep it for several hours in cold water. That seemed so effortless I gave it a go and now I am never without a pitcher of it in my fridge. Absolutely refreshing.

One thing I found is not to use too many bags. I started out using six bags in a 32 oz pitcher but cut down to four, adjusting the strength. The truly excellent thing is that it doesn't need sweetening and I say this as a total sugar addict so much so I can't buy buy sugar because if I did I'd eat by the spoon.



ps if you only ever tried bottled greent tea and didn't like it don't let that stop you making your own. There is a world of difference.

[AsahinaKimi]

15. I do that with both Green tea, Pu Erh and Oolong tea.

Its nice to have an assortment of teas to choose from. Just get a pitcher of cold water with a lid, and put in four bags..great tea!

[skepticscott]

14. Fearmongering bullshit

Read a little more before you spread this kind of crap, please.

http://www.cspiscam.com/headline_detail.cfm?id=4387

[Stuart G]

16. How do we really know this is fearmongering???

There is increased rate of cancer in rats...
sure..but what about humans??...is it fearmongering to warn about this?

Lots of chemicals in the body create problems...
Those that do are totally unnatural..
like refined sugar in large amounts, aspertime in large amounts..and on and on.
So there is a warning about the carmal stuff...Add that to the warning about the phoney diet sugar. or what ever they are calling it..

.Maybe tea is better....

[Stuart G]

17. Another example of a product out there for a very long time...

and thought to be ok..was/is cigarettes.
.During WWI the companies gave them away to the soldiers.
Upon return in the 20s,and 30s..most smoked cause we thought it was ok...How could it not be ok, if everyone did it and used it.
.Warnings.."fearmongering"..
The real research showed up in the 50s and 60s, after years of using, thousands started dieing from it...
What did the cigarette companies say?? Incomplete research...

So, how does one know if this crap in diet drinks is safe?
Certainly the diet drink manufacturers who might know, wont tell us.. Will they?