Researchers found that older women who drank more diet drinks had a higher risk of stroke and heart disease, as well as a higher risk of dying early from any cause, compared to women who drank fewer of the drinks.

Researchers studied data from more than 81,000 post-menopausal women. After an average follow-up of nearly 12 years, the scientists found 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 reported drinking fewer than one beverage a week (or none at all). (1)

A Daily Diet Soda Habit May Be Linked to Dementia – Both Sugar- and Artificially Sweetened Drinks Might Have Negative Effects On The Brain

MRI scans and cognitive exams of about 4,000 people ages 30 and up found that people who consumed more than three sodas per week – or more than two sugary drinks of any type (soda, fruit juice, and other soft drinks) per day – were more likely to have memory problems, a smaller brain volume and a smaller hippocampus (an area of the brain used in learning and memory. Drinking at least one diet soda a day was associated with smaller brain volume, as well. (2)

1. Mossavar-Rahmani Y, Kamensky V, Manson JE. artificially sweetened beverages and stroke, coronary heart disease, and all-cause mortality in the women’s health initiative. Stroke. 2019;50:555-562.
2. Paseabc MP, Himalidbd JJ, Jacquesbe PF et al. Sugary beverage intake and preclinical Alzheimer’s disease in the community. Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 2017;13(9):955-964.