Newly published research concludes that artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs) may not be a heart-healthy alternative to sugary drinks.
The study, published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, investigates the relationship between the consumption of ASBs and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in a large group of people.
The volunteers for the study were divided into three groups: nonconsumers, low consumers and high consumers of diet or sugary beverages.
The authors state that while following up on the data from 2011 to 2019, drinking sugary beverages and drinking ASBs were separately compared to any first cases of “stroke, transient ischemic attack, myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome and angioplasty.”
This result was similar to the difference in CVD occurrence between nonconsumers and high consumers of sugary drinks.
However, the authors do note that correlation does not necessarily imply causation:
Due to public health interest, a 2019 study also set out to answer whether the consumption of sugary beverages or ASBs is associated with additional risk of mortality. Researchers examined the relationship between long-term consumption of sugary drinks and ASBs with the risk of mortality in adults living in the US.
This study states that “sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are the single largest source of added sugar in the US diet. They include the full spectrum of carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, fruit drinks, and sports drinks that contain added caloric sweeteners such as high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, or fruit juice concentrates.”
Prior to their study, the researchers note, there had been very few studies examining the association between the consumption of such beverages and mortality.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
