Aspartame – the main sweetener for diet soda- is one of the most dangerous ingredients used in our food supply today. It causes seizures and a host of other health issues. Because of this, consumers try to make better choices as various health epidemics plague the nation.
Ten years ago, in a study using 60,000 women, it reveals that compared to non-drinkers, those women who drink two or more diet drinks a day have much higher rates of cardiovascular diseases and are more likely to die from the disease.
Drinking Diet Soda Makes You 30 Percent More Susceptible To Cardiovascular Problems
The same study was done in The University of Iowa and it concludes that those who consume two or more diet drinks a day are 30 percent more likely to have a cardiovascular problem like heart attack and stroke and 50 percent more likely to die from related disease. According to the lead investigator of this study, Dr. Ankur Vyas, the findings have been consistent with the results of previous data, particularly those connecting diet drinks into metabolic syndrome.
Furthermore, the researchers adjusted the data to account for other cardiovascular risk factors and demographic characteristics of the samples. These include physical activity, body mass index, smoking, energy intake, hormone therapy use, salt intake, sugar-sweetened beverage intake, hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes.
The results show that women who consumed two or more diet drinks a day have higher body mass index, more likely to be smokers, younger and had a higher occurrence of high blood pressure and diabetes.
The Drop In Market Sales
As this study was published in various papers, many consumers are becoming more aware and it causes slipping sales of diet soda – one of the largest aspartame markets.
As written in the Time Magazine:
“One reason for the decline could be a growing awareness of the obesity epidemic in the US and growing health concerns surrounding sugar-sweetened beverages. According to Reuters, industry experts say the beverage industry is shrinking under the scrutiny. Even diet-branded drinks have suffered a loss of sales with concerns over artificial sweeteners. Whatever the reason for the decline, this new study should only add fuel to the movement away from artificial sweeteners. There are plenty of natural sweeteners that people can choose that are much healthier than aspartame.”
Thanks to this study as slipping down of soda sales mean that fewer people are being exposed to high fructose corn syrup (mostly GM) which as well carries a whole host of health risks.