Drinking seven or more cans of diet soda a week could increase your risk of long-term heart problems, a study suggests.
Researchers in China spent four years evaluating 200,000 adults in the United Kingdom who had not previously been diagnosed with a heart condition and then followed them 10 years later.
They found that those who drank more than two liters, about seven cans, of artificially sweetened drinks like diet soda per week had a 20 percent higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation than those who didn’t drink them.
Atrial fibrillation, also known as atrial fibrillation, is an irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmia) that begins in the upper chambers of the heart. The condition, which has affected public figures such as President Joe Biden, kills tens of thousands of people in the United States and Britain each year.
People who drank at least a liter of artificially sweetened drinks a week had a 20 percent increased risk of atrial fibrillation.
The findings come months after the World Health Organization deemed aspartame, the artificial sweetener in Diet Coke, a possible carcinogen, meaning it can cause cancer.
However, independent experts have expressed concern about the study’s warnings, stating that the data is only short-term and observational, meaning the cause of the increase in AF cases is unclear.
Dr Ningjian Wang, lead author of the study from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, China, said: “The findings of our study cannot definitively conclude that one drink poses more health risks than another due to the complexity of our diets as some people may drink more than one type of drink.’
“However, based on these findings, we recommend that people reduce or even avoid artificially sweetened and sugary beverages whenever possible.”
“Don’t assume that drinking artificially sweetened beverages low in sugar and calories is healthy, as this may pose potential health risks.”
The research team evaluated 201,856 adults in the UK Biobank database between 2006 and 2010.
The patients were between 37 and 73 years old and 45 percent were men.
Researchers followed participants for an average of 10 years and collected blood samples to measure their genetic risk for atrial fibrillation. Participants were also asked to complete a 24-hour questionnaire about their diet on five separate occasions between April 2009 and April 2012.
Those who drank more than two liters of artificially sweetened drinks a day, about seven cans, had a 20 percent higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation than those who did not drink these drinks.
Additionally, those who drank at least two liters of sugary drinks were 10 percent more likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.
Meanwhile, those who consumed a liter or less of pure fruit juice had an eight percent lower risk of atrial fibrillation than those who didn’t drink it.
Additionally, those who drank at least two liters of sugary drinks were 10 percent more likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.
Meanwhile, those who consumed a liter or less of pure fruit juice had an eight percent lower risk of atrial fibrillation than those who didn’t drink it.
“Participants who consumed more artificially sweetened beverages were more likely to be female, younger, have a higher body mass index, and have a higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes,” the team wrote.
“Participants who consumed more sugary drinks were more likely to be male, younger, have a higher body mass index, a higher prevalence of heart disease, and a lower socioeconomic status.”
The team also observed that those who drank sugar-sweetened beverages and pure fruit juice were more likely to have a higher total daily sugar intake than those who drank artificially sweetened beverages.
“These new findings on the relationships between atrial fibrillation risk and sugary, artificially sweetened beverages and pure juices may prompt the development of new prevention strategies considering decreasing sweetened beverages to help improve heart health,” he said. Dr. Wang.
“Although the mechanisms linking sugary drinks and the risk of atrial fibrillation remain unclear, there are several possible explanations, including insulin resistance and the body’s response to different sweeteners.”
Insulin resistance occurs when the body does not respond to the hormone insulin, causing high blood sugar levels. Over time, high blood sugar levels damage blood vessels and contribute to heart disease.
Additionally, although research on artificial sweeteners is limited, sugar has long been linked to heart disease because it raises blood pressure and increases harmful inflammation throughout the body.
Although AFib alone is not fatal, it can contribute to more serious heart problems, such as heart failure, because the heart pumps so hard that blood cannot pump fast enough to the rest of the body.
There are several important caveats about the study.
“Limitations of this study include that the findings were observational and cannot prove causality between consumption of certain types of beverages and risk of AFib,” the researchers wrote.
‘In addition, the findings relied on participants remembering their own diets, so there may have been memory errors or biases. It is also unknown whether sugary and artificially sweetened drinks contained caffeine.
Independent experts have also expressed concern about the findings, citing the need for more long-term data.
Gavin Partington, director general of the British Soft Drinks Association, said: “As the authors of this study themselves admit, this is observational research which, firstly, cannot prove cause and, secondly, involves data that could be subject to memory errors. or partiality of the participants.’
“All soft drinks, whatever their ingredients, can be safely consumed as part of a balanced diet, including fruit juice, of which a 150ml serving counts as one of your 5 a day.”
Victoria Taylor, senior dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, said: “As this type of study is observational, it can only show us associations, not causation.” “We would need more research and different types of studies to have a definitive answer.”
«We already know that diets high in sugar are related to diets high in calories, which can cause weight gain and obesity. In turn, this increases the chances of developing type 2 diabetes and heart and circulatory diseases.’
Dr Duane Mellor, registered dietitian and senior lecturer at Aston University in the UK, said: “This study claimed to have found that people who drank more than 2 liters per week had a higher risk of atrial fibrillation.”
“However, the data on which it was based were only five separate recalls of food intake on a single day that were taken during the first three years of the study, so this data had to be extrapolated to estimate weekly intake.”
“Although there is an increased risk, there is limited explanation for how sweeteners could increase the risk of atrial fibrillation, so there is limited biological reason to explain how sweetened beverages could be related to heart health.”
The study was published Tuesday in the journal. Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology.