Soft drinks with artificial sweeteners may not be the healthy choice we are often presented with, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Specifically, according to the study, light soft drinks with artificial sweeteners are associated, like sugary soft drinks, with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.
The effect on the cardiovascular system is unknown
Numerous researches have shown that a diet that includes the consumption of sugary soft drinks can have a negative effect on cardiovascular health. Soft drinks with artificial sweeteners were therefore presented as a healthier alternative, however to date their own effect on the cardiovascular system has not become fully known.
In the new study, researchers analyzed data from the French NutriNet-Santé cohort to examine the relationship between cardiovascular risk and sugary drinks as well as soft drinks with artificial sweeteners. Data included 104.760 participants who were asked to complete specially designed questionnaires about their eating habits every six months for three consecutive times. Participants were divided into three categories according to the consumption of soft drinks (sugary and with artificial sweeteners) that they did: people who did not consume soft drinks, people who consumed little and people who consumed a lot.
Higher risk of cardiovascular disease
The scientists followed the volunteers from 2009 to 2019 looking for how many of them developed a cardiovascular disease or stroke - transient ischemic attack, myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome, angioplasty. They saw that 1.379 participants developed a cardiovascular disease for the first time in that time. The analysis found that compared with those who did not consume soft drinks at all, those who drank a lot of both soft drinks and soft drinks with artificial sweeteners had a higher risk of cardiovascular disease - this conclusion was drawn after consideration. could affect the outcome.
Impact on regulations?
According to the study's lead author Eloa Sazela, PhD researcher and member of the Nutrition Epidemiology Research Group, which includes different French academic and research centers (Sorbonne University Nord Paris, Inserm, Inrae, Cnam), authorities. "Our study shows that soft drinks with artificial sweeteners are probably not a healthier alternative to sugary soft drinks, and the data provide additional arguments in the tax, labeling and regulation dispute between sugary soft drinks and soft drinks. substances ".
However, the researcher added that in order to determine whether there is a causal link between soft drinks - both sugary and light - with cardiovascular disease, it is now necessary to verify the findings through a wide range of prospective studies.