UM Study: Diet Soda Increases Your Risk for Stroke

By Kyle Munzenrieder Wed., Feb. 9 2011 at 1:16 PM

Categories: News

Basically, the first thing Riptide does in the morning.

Riptide is hopelessly addicted to diet soda. Hell, we had just downed a 20-oz. Cherry Coke Zero when we came across this latest study out of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine: drinking diet soda daily increases your risk of suffering a stroke by 61 percent. It didn't quite make us spit out that precious, precious source of zero calorie caffeine, but obviously it has shaken us to our very artificially sweetened core.

Hannah Gardener, an epidemiologist at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, will present the study today at the International Stroke Conference 2011 in Los Angeles according to Health Day.

Gardner tracked the soda habits of 2,564 people with an average age of 69. Even when controlling for other risk factors the study "found that those who drank diet soda daily -- compared to those who drank no soda -- were 61 percent more likely to have a vascular event."

When the"presence of metabolic syndrome, vascular disease in the limbs and heart disease history" were factored in, the link still held with a 48 percent greater incidence in diet soda drinkers.

Though, Gardener's research isn't totally conclusive. Her team wasn't able to identify why diet soda may have caused greater risk of stroke.

Dr. Patrick Lyden, chief of neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, tells Health Day that while at first he thought the correlation may have been accidental, the research is sound, but he urges people to wait for more studies before taking the correlation as fact.

In any event, Riptide will have to continue risking our very health to do our job. A blogger simply can't function without caffeine, and frankly we don't like coffee and aren't a fan of real sugar.

[HealthDay: Can Diet Soda Boost Your Stroke Risk?]

Follow Miami New Times on Facebook and Twitter @MiamiNewTimes.

Tags:

Hannah Gardener, University of Miami

We Recommend

Ljmom

Big diet soda drinker since my teens...just had a stroke at the "old" age of 48!! Dr.'s have found no cause yet. I am not a smoker, have low blood pressure, borderline chlolesteral, no birth control pill, etc. Scary.

classifier

...so is the artificial sweetener in question aspartame, saccharin or Sucralose?

nevernot

Aspartame is still classified as a neuro-toxin by the US military. Any coincidence here?

Lora Evans

I'll give up my Diet Coke right after I stroke out!

Jwreece1

Good luck with that!

WellnessSeeker

Diet soda might not contain calories but since you are putting chemicals/food-like materials into your body to be digested it will have an effect - whether good or bad. I have heard many stories about people quitting diet soda and having weight loss, more energy and better ability to focus during the day. Which is odd because I think that is why people choose diet soda in the first place. I got some good info on this from a blog I read a lot: Check it out: http://blog.mydiscoverhealth.c...