begin quote from:
Diet sodas may be tied to dementia risk
Diet sodas may be tied to stroke, dementia risk
10 of 18
11 of 18
12 of 18
13 of 18
14 of 18
15 of 18
16 of 18
17 of 18
18 of 18
1 of 18
2 of 18
3 of 18
4 of 18
5 of 18
6 of 18
7 of 18
8 of 18
9 of 18
10 of 18
11 of 18
12 of 18
13 of 18
14 of 18
15 of 18
16 of 18
17 of 18
18 of 18
1 of 18
2 of 18
3 of 18
4 of 18
5 of 18
6 of 18
7 of 18
8 of 18
9 of 18
Story highlights
- A controversial study ties diet sodas to a higher risk of stroke and dementia
- One expert called the new study "a piece of a larger puzzle"
(CNN)Gulping
down an artificially sweetened beverage not only may be associated with
health risks for your body, but also possibly your brain, a new study suggests.
Artificially
sweetened drinks, such as diet sodas, were tied to a higher risk of
stroke and dementia in the study, which published in the American Heart Association's journal Stroke on Thursday.
The
study sheds light only on an association, as the researchers were
unable to determine an actual cause-and-effect relationship between
sipping artificially sweetened drinks and an increased risk for stroke
and dementia. Therefore, some experts caution that the findings should
be interpreted carefully.
No
connection was found between those health risks and other sugary
beverages, such as sugar-sweetened sodas, fruit juice and fruit drinks.
"We
have little data on the health effects of diet drinks and this is
problematic because diet drinks are popular amongst the general
population," said Matthew Pase, a senior research fellow in the
department of neurology at Boston University School of Medicine and lead
author of the new study.
"More
research is needed to study the health effects of diet drinks so that
consumers can make informed choices concerning their health," he said.
The
new study involved data on 2,888 adults older than 45 and 1,484 adults
older than 60 from the town of Framingham, Massachusetts. The data came
from the Framingham Heart Study, a project of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and Boston University.
In the older-than-45 group, the researchers measured for stroke and in the older-than-60 group, they measured for dementia.
"The
sample sizes are different because we studied people of different
ages," Pase said. "Dementia is rare in people under the age of 60 and so
we focused only on those aged over 60 years for dementia. Similarly,
stroke is rare in people aged under 45 and so we focused on people older
than age 45 for stroke."
The
researchers analyzed how many sugary beverages and artificially
sweetened soft drinks each person in the two different age groups drank,
at different time points, between 1991 and 2001. Then, they compared
that with how many people suffered stroke or dementia over the next 10
years.
Compared to never drinking
artificially sweetened soft drinks, those who drank one a day were
almost three times as likely to have an ischemic stroke, caused by
blocked blood vessels, the researchers found.
They also found that those who drank one a day were nearly three times as likely to be diagnosed with dementia.
Those
who drank one to six artificially sweetened beverages a week were 2.6
times as likely to experience an ischemic stroke but were no more likely
to develop dementia, Pase said.
"So,
it was not surprising to see that diet soda intake was associated with
stroke and dementia. I was surprised that sugary beverage intake was not
associated with either the risks of stroke or dementia because sugary
beverages are known to be unhealthy," Pase said.
In
response, Lauren Kane, a spokeswoman for the American Beverage
Association, issued a statement from the group that said low-calorie
sweeteners found in beverages have been proven safe by worldwide
government safety authorities.
"The
FDA, World Health Organization, European Food Safety Authority and
others have extensively reviewed low-calorie sweeteners and have all
reached the same conclusion -- they are safe for consumption," the
statement said.
"While we respect
the mission of these organizations to help prevent conditions like
stroke and dementia, the authors of this study acknowledge that their
conclusions do not -- and cannot -- prove cause and effect. And
according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), many risk factors
can increase an individual's likelihood of developing stroke and
dementia including age, hypertension, diabetes and genetics. NIH does
not mention zero calorie sweeteners as a risk factor," the statement
said. "America's beverage companies support and encourage balanced
lifestyles by providing people with a range of beverage choices — with
and without calories and sugar — so they can choose the beverage that is
right for them."
Separate
previous studies have shown an association between the intake of
sugar-sweetened beverages and adverse health effects, such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke, and possibly even heart failure.
"This
article provides further evidence though on artificially sweetened
beverages and their possible effects on vascular health, including
stroke and dementia," said Dr. Ralph Sacco, professor and chair of
neurology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, about
the new study.
Sacco was a co-author of an editorial published alongside the study in the journal Stroke on Thursday.
"We
believe the pathways of which artificially sweetened beverages would
affect the brain are probably through vascular mechanisms," Sacco said.
"When
the authors controlled for hypertension and diabetes and obesity the
effects diminish, which implies that some of the effects of artificially
sweetened beverages could still be going through a vascular pathway,"
he said about the new study. "Many strokes are caused by hardening of
arteries; and the risk of dementia is also increased by the hardening of
arteries in large and small vessels. So, I believe the mechanisms may
be through vascular disease, though we can't prove it."
Heather
Snyder, senior director of medical and scientific operations at the
Alzheimer's Association, called the new study "a piece of a larger
puzzle" when it comes to better understanding how your diet and
behaviors impact your brain.
"It's
actually really more of your overall diet and overall lifestyle that is
linked to cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk, and we do know that
heart disease and diabetes are linked to an increased risk of dementia,"
said Snyder, who was not involved in the new study.
"We
know that sugary and artificially sweetened beverages are not great for
us. This study adds strength to that, and also says they may not be
great for your brain, specifically," she said. "There are alternatives
-- things we can all do everyday to keep our brains and our bodies as
healthy as we can as we age." Alternatives such as regular
cardiovascular exercise that elevates heart rate and increases blood
flow and doing puzzles and games to activate and challenge the mind.
These are recommendations from the Alzheimer's Associations list of 10 lifestyle habits to reduce risk of cognitive decline.
No comments:
Post a Comment