Soda drinks (regular or diet) linked to Metabolic Syndrome, Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes

[philb]

According to a large U.S. study, soda drinks, whether they be diet or regular, are linked to an increased risk of metabolic syndrome among middle-age adults.

Metabolic syndrome is comprised of a cluster of several cardiovascular risk factors, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, excess fat around the abdomen, clogged arteries, and glucose intolerance, a condition in which the body can no longer process sugar in the blood that often precedes diabetes.

The new research suggests that those who drink one or more soda drinks each day have a 48-percent higher risk of metabolic syndrome compared to whose who drink less and supports previous findings that soda drink consumption contributes to obesity and insulin resistance in children and hypertension in adults.
The large community based study by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine, analyzed data from subjects in the Framingham Heart Study who were in their mid-50s.
All were free of cardiovascular disease when the study began.
The Framingham Heart Study followed participants for three consecutive periods spanning 1987 to 1995 with a physical exam, food frequency questionnaires, and fasting plasma lipid, glucose, and triglyceride measurements about every four years.
Until recently the link between soft-drink consumption and metabolic syndrome was purely theoretical and based primarily on the high sugar content, of the drinks.
The researchers found the results were similar whether the soda was caffeinated or decaffeinated but the reason for the similarity between findings with sugar- versus artificially-sweetened drinks was unclear.
Dr. Ramachandran S. Vasan and colleagues found that the men who drank soft drinks had 44-percent higher risk of metabolic syndrome and that drinking the soft drinks also increased the incidence of each other element of metabolic syndrome.
Past research has shown that the consumption of soft drinks is a part of the overall dietary behaviour of people and is usually accompanied by a diet high in calories and fat, and low in fiber.
But Vasan's team found that even after accounting for known risk factors such as diet, smoking and physical activity, the association between soft drink consumption and metabolic syndrome remained a significant one.
They believe a public health policy advocating a limit to the consumption of soft drinks in the community would possibly result in a lowering of the burden of metabolic risk factors in adults.
The study was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the American Diabetes Association and is published in Circulation, Journal of the American Heart Association.

R.S.Vasan et al, Journal of the American Health Association, Jan 2008.
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=27951

[flor de jasmim]

1. I've seen this, but even when I've been off Diet Coke for a month, I feel so lethargic.

Has anyone managed to really kick the habit?

[gblady]

4. yes.....and...

it is a hard one....I LOVED my diet Coke. I haven't had any in a couple of years.
And just yesterday, I got a craving for one. I love the carbonation effect.
Good luck, well worth it, not only health-wise, but financially as well.

[flor de jasmim]

10. You're right about the finances - I'm an expat, and a 1.5 L bottle can run $4.50! YIKES

I hadn't calculated the price in a while... maybe that will help cut down! Of course, I usually buy an off-brand, which is about half that, but still...

[philb]

2. Fried foods, meat, refined grains, (Western Diet) linked to metabolic syndrome, cardio disease, diab

ScienceDaily (Jan. 24, 2008) — Otherwise-healthy adults who eat two or more servings of meat a day -- the equivalent of two burger patties -- increase their risk of developing metabolic syndrome by 25 percent compared with those who eat meat twice a week, according to research published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk factors including elevated waist circumference, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or "good") cholesterol and high fasting glucose levels. The presence of three or more of the factors increases a person's risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
But it's not just meat that adds inches to the waist, increases blood pressure and lowers HDL -- "it's fried foods as well," said Lyn M. Steffen, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D., co-author of the study and an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota.
the Western-pattern diet was heavy on refined grains, processed meat, fried foods, red meat, eggs and soda, and light on fish, fruit, vegetables and whole grain products.

Dietary Intake and the Development of the Metabolic Syndrome. The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study , Pamela L. Lutsey MPH, Lyn M. Steffen PhD, MPH, RD*, and June Stevens PhD, MS, RD , Circulation, Jan 2008

From the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, School of Public Health, Minneapolis (P.L.L., L.M.S.), and Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (J.S.). http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.716159v1

[RC]

3. There is such a wide variety of ingredients in soda pop, the only thing common is the carbonation.

That and water. And so far reasonably pure water hasn't been proven to kill too many people - yet.
Maybe someone is trying to demonize the carbon dioxide in the drinks, ya think? :shrug:

[Botany]

5. Well death come and get me

I don't drink a lot of pop but I do like coke, dr. pepper, and root beer

Stewarts is the bomb

[undergroundrailroad]

9. Add Vernors to that list!

[OwnedByFerrets]

6. The list of what will NOT kill you

would be much shorter.

[philb]

7. The study found that a diet low in the things listed and high in fruits & veges doesn't do this

Garden veges, nuts, fruits, regular "non-fast food" foods had no correlation to these adverse health effects

[pansypoo53219]

8. death by

high fructose corn syrup.