Diet Drinks And The Many Significant Health Risks

Stroke And Heart Attack

A recent study found that drinking diet cola increases the risk of stroke by fifty percent. According to the authors of the study, “This study suggests that diet soda is not an optimal substitute for sugar-sweetened beverages, and may be associated with a greater risk of stroke, myocardial infarction, or vascular death than regular soda." A stroke occurs when blood clots prevent blood flow from reaching the brain, causing brain cells to die. The longer the brain goes without oxygen, the more susceptible a person is to lasting damage.

Diabetes

Diet soda greatly affects a person’s hormones, which may explain why so many people gain weight when they drink it. According to a study in Diabetes Care, drinking diet soda before eating a meal caused the pancreas to release insulin, a hormone that stores fat, among other things. Diabetes occurs when the pancreas becomes overworked from creating insulin. The more soda a person consumes means the harder their pancreas has to work and the greater the risk of diabetes.