There’s been controversy around artificial sweeteners for years. But now a new issue for you to worry about if you like diet sodas. Are they causing dementia?
Science has pretty much debunked the claims that artificial sweeteners cause cancer, while the picture remains a little hazier regarding sugar substitutes and weight loss.
But now there’s a new concern to add to the mix: Can diet sodas—which use artificial sweeteners—contribute to dementia and stroke risk? A new study just published in the journal Stroke suggests that there may be a link between the two.
Researchers tracked the stroke risk for nearly 3,000 patients and the dementia risk for about 1,500 more. They discovered that those who drank artificially sweetened beverages were at greater risk of experiencing a stroke or getting diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease over a 10-year follow-up.
In fact, those who drank one or more artificially-sweetened beverages a day were nearly three times as likely to have a stroke than those who didn’t drink any. They were also nearly three times as likely to receive an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, too.
That link remained even after the researchers adjusted for other factors that might skew the relationship, like age, total calorie consumption, diet quality, physical activity, and smoking status.
Interestingly, the researchers didn’t find any link between stroke or dementia and regular sodas.