Diet drinks may increase the risk of stroke in postmenopausal women

If diet drinks are your choice, you need to be careful with your choices as your heart could be at risk

diet drink, increase, heart risk, postmenopausal, woman, health, lifestyle- True Scoop

A new study suggests that drinking diet drinks is associated with an increased risk of having a stroke among post-menopausal women, researchers say. The stroke is caused by a blocked artery, especially small arteries. The study, published in the journal Stroke showed that in comparison to women who consumed diet drinks less than once a week or not at all, women who consumed two or more artificially sweetened beverages per day were 23% more likely to have a stroke, 31% more likely to have ischemic stroke, and 29% were at risk of developing heart disease (fatal or non-fatal heart attack). In addition to this, there was a 16% risk of deaths from any cause.

For the study, researchers included 81,714 post-menopausal women aged 50-79 years. “Many well-meaning people, especially those who are overweight or obese, drink low-calorie sweetened drinks to cut calories in their diet. Our research and other observational studies have shown that artificially-sweetened beverages may not be harmless and high consumption is associated with a higher risk of stroke and heart disease”, said the lead author Yasmin Mossavar-Rahmani who is an Associate Professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the US.

“The American Heart Association suggests water as the best choice for a no-calorie beverage”, suggestes Rachel K. Johnson, Professor at the University of Vermont in the US.


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