Diet Sodas Linked to Bigger Guts, Increased Risk of Heart Disease - East Idaho News
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Diet Sodas Linked to Bigger Guts, Increased Risk of Heart Disease

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H 031815 Soda?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1426684154464iStock/Thinkstock(SAN ANTONIO) — There’ve been plenty of warnings about the dangers of sugary beverages, particularly soda which is loaded with the sweet stuff.

Not so much has been said about diet drinks but a new study out of the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio may give people pause before they refresh themselves.

Researchers looked at the 10-year health records of 750 adults with an average of age of 65 when the study began. Over that time, the waist circumferences of daily diet soda drinkers grew three times as much as seniors who eschewed diet drinks.

The problem, according to researchers, is that bigger guts pointed to a condition called metabolic syndrome, which can result in hypertension, abnormal cholesterol levels and high blood-glucose level. Together, these increase the risk of heart disease.

Researchers believe that the artificial sweeteners aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose interact with the gut’s microbial cells, which can cause metabolic syndrome.

Naturally, they recommend water, the best non-calorie beverage of all, as a substitute for diet sodas.


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