Artificial Sweetener

Artificially Sweetened Drinks Linked To Higher Risk Of Stroke In Women Over 50, Study Indicates.

CNN (2/14, Lamotte) reported that research indicates “drinking two or more of any kind of artificially sweetened drinks a day is linked to an increased risk of clot-based strokes, heart attacks and early death in women over 50.” Investigators found that “the risks were highest for women with no history of heart disease or diabetes and women who were obese or African-American.”

TIME (2/14, Park) reported that investigators “studied data from more than 81,000 post-menopausal women enrolled in the large population-based Women’s Health Initiative.” The researchers found, “after an average followup of nearly 12 years…that women who drank two or more artificially sweetened drinks a day had a 23% higher risk of having any type of stroke, and a 31% increased risk of having a stroke due to clotting in brain blood vessels, compared to women who reporting drinking fewer than one beverage a week (or none at all).” The findings were published in the journal Stroke.

Information about the ADA’s nutrition-related activities is available at ADA.org/nutrition. Dentists can refer patients to MouthHealthy.org, ADA’s consumer website, for up-to-date and evidenced-based information about nutrition.