Are diet soft drinks bad for your brain?
For people looking to lose weight, swapping a Coke for the diet version could reduce your calories intake by as much as 8400 calories per month (that is, if you don’t make up the calories elsewhere!)
But a new study has found that artificial sweeteners in diet drinks are associated with an increased risk of dementia and stroke.
Researchers looked at health data from 3,000 adults over a 10-year period. The findings showed that people who consumed diet drinks at least once per day were three times more likely to develop dementia and suffered three times more stroke compared to people who did not consume diet drinks.
Alarmingly, people who drank regular (non-diet) soft drinks were not linked with a higher risk of dementia or stroke.
However, there’s more to the story so don’t give up your favourite diet soft drink just yet.
The study did not establish cause and effect. Even if there’s a higher rate of brain disease in people who drink diet sodas, it’s not to say that the diet drinks were the cause. The study also did not look at the overall health effects of diet soft drinks, it’s possible they are still the healthier choice.
Like most things though, it seems that if you’re a lover of diet sodas moderation is the key.