Soft drinks associated with heart disease parameters Drinking more than one soft drink daily — whether it’s regular or diet — may be associated with an increase in the risk factors for heart disease, Framingham researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. “In those who drink one or more soft drinks daily, there was an association of an increased risk of developing the metabolic syndrome” said Ramachandran Vasan, M.D., senior author of the Framingham Heart Study and professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk factors including excess waist circumference, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL “good” cholesterol) and high fasting glucose levels. The presence of three or more of the factors increases a person’s risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Prior studies linked soft drink consumption to multiple risk factors for heart disease. However, this study showed that association not only included drinking regular calorie-laden soft drinks, but artificially sweetened diet sodas as well, researchers said. The Framingham study included nearly 9,000 person observations made in middle-aged men and women over four years at three different times. In a “snapshot in time” at baseline, the researchers found that individuals consuming one or more soft drinks a day had a 48 percent increased prevalence of the metabolic syndrome compared to those consuming less than one soft drink daily. The researchers also observed that compared to participants who drank less than one soft drink daily, those who drank one or more soft drinks a day had a: 31 percent greater risk of developing new-onset obesity; 30 percent increased risk of developing increased waist circumference; 25 percent increased risk of developing high blood triglycerides or high fasting blood glucose; 32 percent higher risk of having low HDL levels. A trend towards an increased risk of developing high blood pressure that was not statistically significant. “Results also don’t appear to be driven by the dietary pattern of soft drink users, i.e, by other food items that are typically consumed along with soft drinks,” Vasan said. “We adjusted in our analyses for saturated fat and trans fat intake, dietary fiber consumption, total caloric intake, smoking and physical activity, and still observed a significant association of soft drink consumption and risk of developing the metabolic syndrome and multiple metabolic risk factors.” Vasan called for further studies to replicate the results and to understand the mechanisms driving this association before recommendations can be made. Our source:email from Usana Health News, 8/02/07 Study Links Diet Soft Drinks With Cardiac Risk Circulation, July 2007 Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.