NBC Nightly News is covering risk of stroke or dementia tripling from

[Ilsa]

drinking as little as one diet soda per day. Something about the artificial sweetners affects brain chemistry.


From The Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/04/20/diet-fizzy-drinks-linked-dementia-stroke/

Consuming diet fizzy drinks every day almost triples the risk of developing dementia, a major new study suggests.

People who regularly drank artificially sweetened beverages are also more likely to suffer a stroke, but the full-fat equivalent is not associated with a greater risk of either condition.

Researchers have warned, however, not to treat sugary drinks as a healthy option, saying there may be an as yet undetected link between full-fat drinks, dementia and stroke.

Diet Coke is a favorite drink of president pussygrabber.

[BannonsLiver]

1. Another great reason to smoke weed

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/10775836

[KittyWampus]

2. Whoa. I hadn't read that. Don't enjoy smoking weed anymore. But that is amazing.

[flying_wahini]

6. Whoopee! I'm gonna be SO freakin smart!

[kimbutgar]

19. I think that why the chump administration wants to go after pot

The big pharma profits will be affected negatively when people stop taking their drugs and see how pot is better. We all know who the chump administration cares about big campaign donors and those who can help his bottom line. He just conned all those stupid people who voted for him.

Everyone I have encountered who is addicted to diet sodas are overweight, kind of crazy and in poor health.

[samnsara]

53. but then i get hungry!....

...I drink 3-4 diet colas a day!

[Achilleaze]

3. There's a lot of chemical crap in corporate food and drink

Caveat emptor

[flying_wahini]

4. Hmm the article doesn't mention beer or my favorite; Topo Chico...

Full Fat drinks? like regular cokes?

Drumph is just stupid too, though.

[FiveGoodMen]

5. I have been drinking an insane amount of Diet Coke for more than two decades

I guess I should be a vegetable by now.

My guess is that the methodology of the study is flawed.

[mythology]

25. Well an anecdote of one is absolutely proof positive

James Inhofe has a similar theory about how a cold day disproves global warming.

If you had bothered to read up on the study you might have gotten to the part where the authors talk about the percentage increase and noted that it never got to 100%.

[mountain grammy]

31. All of us diet coke addicts are in denial.

I'm down to one a day after a few years of almost complete abstinence (used to do a six pack a day.) Today I had two. Time to quit. Believe me, there's life after diet coke.

[RobinA]

46. Well, Sit Yourself Down

and have a smoke a day and it'll even out. With the extra bonus that the Coke will take care of that dry mouth from the smoke.

[mountain grammy]

49. If you're talking cannabis, I'm on board..

gave up the other a while ago too.. and all my ex's live in Texas.

We're all addicted to something, corporate greed must be fed.

[LanternWaste]

55. Or simply that anecdotal evidence of one example is irrelevant to science.

"My guess is that the methodology of the study is flawed..."

Or simply that anecdotal evidence of one example is irrelevant to science, as is gueesing.

[pnwmom]

7. It seems very strange that they keep referring to the "full-fat" drink alternative.

The choice is real sugar or artificial. This has nothing to do with fat content.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

33. I noticed that too. It's annoying and ignorant.

[brush]

39. Drink more water. If you drink enough before eating you'll also lose weight.

[NickB79]

65. Exactly. People frequently mistake thirst for hunger

And often eat, when they should just drink something.

[anneboleyn]

54. YES! Sugary foods were advertised as "fat free" in the early days of the anti-fat hysteria

I had a friend in college who used to wolf down "fat free" cookies like Snackwells and (very) sugary fat free yogurts in the 90s as we were still being taught that FAT was the bad thing (with zero differentiation between good, healthy, and filling fats as in fatty fish or olive oil and bad Frankenstein fats like thrice-hydrogenated nasty oil in margarine and crappy French fries, etc). The rest of her diet consisted of high carb but "fat free" foods like white rice mixed with "fat free" salsa and "fat free" sour cream and even "fat free" cheeses (yuck). She fell hard for the whole fat free advertising campaign.

She was convinced that because fat was the culprit according to the "experts" that she could eat as much sugar and/or carbs as she (basically) wanted since it was all "fat free." She couldn't understand why she wasn't losing weight. So she went to an almost entirely fat free diet, which ravaged her looks and her health (she was finally forced to eat a small amount of good fats in fish and so on by a doctor who she saw after she developed a full-blown eating disorder).

I remember thinking that it was such a horrible gimmick -- advertising sugar-loaded foods as fat free. Ugh. I am very happy that people are becoming more aware that good fats are necessary and healthy for us. I have always thought that the explosion of super-high-carb eating in the 70s, 80s, and 90s contributed to the obesity and diabetes epidemics we are seeing today.

[sl8]

8. Link to study:

Sugar- and Artificially Sweetened Beverages and the Risks of Incident Stroke and Dementia
A Prospective Cohort Study

http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/early/2017/04/20/STROKEAHA.116.016027

[Ilsa]

11. Thank you. NT

[wishstar]

17. Study was longterm, going far back so Aspartame would be the most prevalent sweetener

Since the 90's I think the most popular name brands have all used Aspartame and only in recent years have other more "natural" artificial sweeteners started to be used in some less mainstream brands

[MontanaMama]

9. Artificial sweeteners are known

to sap calcium from your bones and they're a cancer risk too. They are bad bad bad. This is another reminder to eat real food.

However, as a devils advocate, I will say that my dad and my grandfather died of Alzheimer's and neither of them drank diet or regular soda so who the heck knows.

[WinkyDink]

10. "...cannot prove a causality." But this is science? Alrighty, then.

[Silent3]

12. The "full-fat equivalent" of fizzy drinks?

What is that? Sodas that are loaded with butter or sour cream? Lard seltzer?

[Ilsa]

14. I know. Makes zero sense. NT

[GoCubsGo]

21. It doesn't make sense if you still buy into the "fat makes you fat" crap we were sold for decades.

It turns out that isn't the case. The real culprit is sugar, and it was the sugar industry that pushed fat as the culprit.

[ginnyinWI]

47. there are good and bad carbs and good and bad fats, etc.

Good carbs: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc. Bad carbs: sugars and refined starches

Good fats: mono unsaturated fats and a moderate amount of poly unsaturated fats. Bad fats: trans fats and saturated fats.

Bad fats can raise a diabetic's A1c--it isn't only the sugars.

There are also good and bad proteins: vegetable sources are healthier, or fish. Poultry is worse, and red meat much worse!

Alcohol: a little is good, a lot is bad

Coffee and tea: good, especially green tea which fights cancer cells.

[GoCubsGo]

58. Yes, but there was a pervasive "all fat is bad" mentality for decades.

I know I am not the only one who gagged down fat-free yogurt and salads with fat-free dressing on them for years. They loaded that stuff with refined carbs to make them taste better. It didn't work. We also missed out on the benefits of the fat-soluble vitamins in the salad and dairy. A lot of people still haven't caught onto everything you just posted, which is spot-on, BTW. I'm glad at least some get to see it now.

I'll also add that processed soy is probably not a good source of vegetable protein. There is evidence that it can mess with one's endocrine system. (I'm talking veggie burgers and soy "milk". not tofu, miso, tempeh, edamame.)

[ginnyinWI]

59. like isolated soy protein--

I used to use that stuff but not anymore.

I do use soy milk, tofu, miso etc. I use "fake" meats sometimes but I think they upset my stomach. I actually have a soy milk maker, so can make it with soybeans (which are hard to find, by the way), a little sugar, salt and vanilla. Without those additives it is really bad tasting.

I use the milk maker more for almond milk, which tastes as good as the store-bought.

I try to eat a plant-based diet and have lost my taste for cow's milk. Yogurt is okay. Try to eat the lower fat cheeses because saturated fat isn't good for you.

It isn't so hard to understand how to eat healthy. Marketing has to make it all or nothing--eat no fat and have all the sugar you want! Stupid.

[Mosby]

64. whats wrong with soy protein?

It's in a lot of heathy foods like clif bars and organic protein drinks. My dog gets a vegetarian food for his allergies that contains lots of isolated soy protein, this prescription food literally saved his life.

[ginnyinWI]

66. well my understanding is

that isolated soy protein, found in protein powders and textured vegetable protein, is very much processed and therefore suspected of being unhealthy. I haven't read anything about it lately--this was some time ago, so you might want to look into it.

[GoCubsGo]

13. ABC reported this study, as well. But...

They pointed out that there was a correlation, but that it was not necessarily cause-and-effect. Obese people and diabetics are prone to stroke and dementia. They also more likely to drink a lot of diet soda--because they are diabetic, or because they want to cut calories. More likely, these people are likely to suffer stroke or dementia because of their physical condition, not because of what they're drinking.

[uponit7771]

18. +1...I wonder if they took out the predesposed

[GoCubsGo]

20. Yeah, I don't know.

There's a lot to be said about the genetics component of cardiovascular disease. Members of my family were obese, ate crappy diets, had high cholesterol, and still managed to live well into their 80s and 90s. They died of other causes besides cardiovascular diseases and dementia.

It's also not to say that diet soda is good for you. I was hooked on Diet Coke for years. Glad I got off of it before I completely dissolved the enamel off of my teeth. God only knows what it did to my bones.

[pnwmom]

34. OTOH, they know that Aspartame can have neurological effects.

For example, the doctor at the sleep clinic gave me a list of substances that cause leg jerks while sleeping, and Aspartame was near the top of the list.

[Lucinda]

15. If I remember my old research...it interferes with brain synapse firing

I tried diet sodas back when I still drank soft drinks and they made me mean, and I am normally a pretty happy camper, so I started doing a little research.

[spanone]

16. let's send trump cases and cases and cases of diet coke

[Vinca]

22. I'm sure big pharma will come up with an expensive solution to the problem.

Given all the past studies of things like coffee being bad, then good. Red wine being good, then bad. Margarine being better than butter - and so on and so on and so on - I take it with a grain of salt (but not too much). Is chocolate good or bad today?????

[Rollo]

29. I think the general lesson of all those is that artificial is not as good as natural...

As in, sugar less harmful than artificial sweeteners.

Butter better than trans-fat laden margarine.

[AnnieBW]

23. Well, I'm fucked

I drink diet soda more than I should anyway. So does my husband. Although, we've switched off of caffeine.

[Shandris]

24. I've said from the time I was 9 you had to have dementia...

...to drink a Diet soda to begin with. Turns out I was more right than I knew.

Ah well, I'm sure the sugary beverage that allows your stomach to suppress its own desire to expel 40+ grams of sugar just so you can 'enjoy' it will be a much better alternative.

*shudder*

[democratisphere]

26. Oh great. I drink Diet Mountain Dew by the gallons.

No wonder I can't​ remember anything anymore. Incidentally, what website am I on?

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

41. What's a website? (gulp, gulp, gulp.)

[applegrove]

27. Just got a soda stream. I can use veggie smoothie to flavour instead

of diet coke. Goid to know.

[ginnyinWI]

28. I don't drink soda because of other reasons.

The artificial sweeteners mess with your stomach good bugs, causing you to tend to gain weight. So much for "diet".

Which might be one reason that it tends to make you hungrier, not more satisfied. Sugar also increases appetite, so avoid sugar sweetened soda too.

Acid reflux does not do well with carbonated beverages.

The coloring in colas is carcinogenic.

Just drink water! Cheaper, or free and good for you.

[Rollo]

30. Not to mention brominated vegetable oils...

Which are rampant in drinks such as Mountain Dew.

And that stuff stays in the body (in fat tissue) for a long time.

[Elwood P Dowd]

32. What about the decaf version of regular Coke?

Not the decaf diet version. Wonder if they have any issues because I drink them rather than the classic or diet stuff.

[Cal Carpenter]

50. Caffeine is just an additive

in soda. So it would be the same as drinking the regular stuff in terms of the study in the OP.

The problem is with the artificial sweeteners that come in the diet versions.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

35. I keep on being stunned at the large amounts

of soft drinks, whether diet or sugar, that most people consume. In the grocery store, it seems as though hardly a cart goes by that doesn't have at least one, and more often several of those massive 24-can (or however many they are) boxes of soft drinks. Why?

Some years back I stopped bringing soft drinks into my home, because my younger son would simply drink too much of them. I still routinely drank soft drinks when eating out. The sugared ones, as I'd given up the diet ones years before as I realized how terrible the chemicals in them were.

Over time, I drank fewer and fewer soft drinks, and now it's less than one in a month. On a long-distance drive I'm likely to get a Seven-Up or its equivalent when getting gas, but that's about it any more.

And I can't imagine what full-fat drinks are out there. Full sugar, maybe, but I'd say there's pretty much zero fat in any of the soft drinks.

[ginnyinWI]

48. yeah and it's hard to get anything to drink in a restaurant that's healthy

except for water. It's all soda, soda, soda or fruit drinks (Mexican restaurants especially). The fruit juices are perhaps better but are still a concentrated form of sugars.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

61. There's almost always beer or wine

at restaurants.

Even when I'm drinking alcohol, I drink a lot of water at the same time. It does seem to cut down on a potentially unpleasant after-effect.

I often ask for club soda or plain carbonated water, as that seems to quench my thirst better than still water.

[X_Digger]

36. 9 out of 10 convicts in jail smoke. Therefore, smoking causes crime!

Free clue: correlation != causation.

[Volstagg]

40. Have you checked out

tylervigen.com The Suprious Correlations website? Funny stuff.

[Orrex]

37. What about fizzy lifting drinks?

[doc03]

38. I guess I will have to go back to Madd Dog nt

[democratisphere]

42. Don't forget. You are what you drink.

[oberliner]

43. "The nature of the study means they cannot prove a causal link between diet drinks and dementia"

From the article.

[malaise]

44. I tasted diet pepsi once and never tried any diet drink again

I rarely drink sodas but when I do it is never diet soda. Truth be told I hate artificial sweeteners.

[mac56]

45. You can live to be a hundred

if you give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred. - Woody Allen

[get the red out]

51. Well then I'm a bad person and going to hell

And I'll forget where I'm headed because I love diet coke.

There will probably be another study next week disproving this one, then another proving it, then another.................................

[kcr]

52. The fact they give me a headache may have saved me.

I've never been able to eat or drink anything with artificial sweetners as it's a big migraine trigger for me. Sugary drinks, tho. I do like the occasional latte/frappe frou frou that people like to make fun of. Iced when it's warm weather. So I'm not totally out of the woods according to the article.

[mn9driver]

56. Correlation is not Causation.

The authors of this study have no inkling of the possible mechanism that might link these two things. They speculate, but none of their speculations have been studied at all.

At this point, this is nothing but an interesting and probably meaningless correlation. Like this one:



This graph shows that pirates prevent global warming.

[Ilsa]

57. Yeah, I know. NT

[alarimer]

60. You cannot trust what the mainstream media says about studies like this.

They are not scientists or statisticians and they mangle it every single time.

First of all, tripling the risk sounds like a lot, but is it really? Going from .01% to .03% (and I made up these numbers) is in fact tripling, but is still vanishingly small.

What was the study sample size? Were there controls for other, confounding factors? Is this a properly controlled study? Is a meta-analysis? All of these things matter in how seriously we should take this news.

My point, take it with a grain of salt.

[Tom Rinaldo]

62. Within the last year or so default Diet Pepsi is now sweetened with Splenda

Although there is also a version made with the "classic" sweetener formulae - Aspertane. The Splenda version has a silver label, the Aspertane version has a light blue label. No caffeine and Cherry flavored versions of Diet Pepsi all use Splenda far as I can tell.

Here is a story about the medical effects of Splenda and Stevia: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/262475.php

[FiveGoodMen]

63. A few snips from the Guardian's take on this

(mind you, they quote the same accusations as the telegraph, but throw in some caveats that I'll mention here)

However, they admitted that they could not prove a causal link between intake of diet drinks and development of either medical condition because their study was merely observational and based on details people provided in questionnaires logging their food and drink habits.

snip

Dr Mary Hannon-Fletcher, head of health sciences at Ulster University, said: “These data are sound as far as they go. However, it is important to note ‘the associations between recent and higher cumulative intake of artificially sweetened soft drinks and dementia were no longer significant after additional adjustment for vascular risk factors and diabetes mellitus’ – as the editor also pointed out. So are the conclusions sound? Perhaps not.”

snip

“In fact, based on the evidence, Public Health England is actively encouraging food and drink companies to use low-calorie sweeteners as an alternative to sugar and help people manage their weight.”

But this is the one that really gets me:

However, Tam Fry, a spokesman for the National Obesity Forum, warned consumers not to see low- or no-sugar drinks as healthy. “Don’t be fooled by the use of the word diet. Diet drinks were dreamed up as a description by an industry wanting to lull you into believing that it was a healthy thirst-quencher. Whether you’re thin or fat and thirsty, and not near a good old-fashioned tap, buy yourself bottled water,” Fry said.

Just like any republican would, Fry impugns the motives of the other side, makes a claim that can't fully be true -- diet drinks ARE lower in calories -- provides no evidence (that diet drinks are not diet) -- and then tells you what to do.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/apr/20/stroke-and-dementia-risk-linked-to-low-sugar-drinks-study-finds