Good Lifestyle

For some, swapping out regular soda for a diet option can feel like a healthier choice. But mounting research has shown that while the popular beverages may be marketed as a safer alternative, there are still plenty of downsides to indulging your fizzy drink craving—even when it's a reduced-calorie option. Now, new research has shown that some ingredients in diet soda can even spike your risk of certain types of cancer. Read on to see why you may want to consider cutting out your consumption of the carbonated beverages.

RELATED: Drinking This Popular Beverage Can Triple Your Cancer Risk, Studies Say.

The latest research on the connection between diet soda and cancer comes from a study published on March 24 in the journal PLOS Medicine.Researchers used data from over 102,865 French adults participating in the ongoing NutriNet-Santé survey, which collects self-reported information from participants about their medical history, lifestyle, diet, and health data. For the purposes of this study, data on artificial sweetener intake over a mean follow-up period of eight years was compared with cancer diagnosis information from the database.

After adjusting for health variables including age, sex, and family medical history, results showed that participants who consumed the highest quantities of the artificial sweeteners aspartame and acesulfame-K commonly used as an ingredient in diet soda were 13 percent more likely to be diagnosed with cancer compared to those who didn't regularly consume them. Specifically, high aspartame consumption alone was associated with a 22 percent increased rate of breast cancer and a 15 percent increased risk of obesity-related cancers.

The researchers said their results still helped shed new light on a topic that has seen exhaustive examination. "Findings from this study are very original since, to our knowledge, no previous cohort study had directly investigated the association between quantitative artificial sweetener intakes per se—distinguishing the different types of sweeteners and cancer risk," the study's co-authors Charlotte Debras, PhD, and Mathilde Touvier, PhD, from Sorbonne Paris Nord University, told MedPage Today in a joint email.

"But these results are in line with our initial hypothesis and with previous scientific literature," they added. "Indeed, some observational studies have investigated the associations between cancer risk and the consumption of artificially sweetened beverages (used as a proxy) and found increased risk of cancer, suggesting that artificial sweeteners present in these types of beverages might play a role in the development of cancer."

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Despite the novelty of the findings, the research team admitted some limitations with the study, including that the results only establish correlation and not causation between cancer diagnoses and artificial sweetener consumption. They also cite potential selection bias as a factor since most participants were more likely to be more health-conscious women with higher education levels. The team suggests that a larger scale study will need to be performed to confirm the results.

However, the researchers said the findings provided an argument for reducing the intake of artificial sweeteners and regular sugar, as high consumption of both has been connected with health risks. "The recommendation is to limit processed foods with either added sugar or artificial sweeteners. This objective must be achieved by reducing the overall sweet taste of food, and this from an early age," the study authors wrote in an email to Insider.

The wide range of studies on the health effects of diet soda consumption goes well beyond cancer risk. For example, one 2017 study published in the journal Strokefound that diet sodas lead to a higher risk of dementia. The study kept track of 1,484 people over the age of 60 for a 10-year period and found that those who drank diet soda every day (compared to less than once a week) were three times more likely to develop the disease.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb

The study did not only look at dementia, but also at the stroke risk Na may regular na pag-inom ng diyeta soda, at natagpuan ang mga katulad na resulta. Para sa mga ito, sinusubaybayan ng mga mananaliksik ang 2,888 katao na may edad na 45 at higit pa para sa parehong 10 taon. Natagpuan nila na ang mga umiinom ng hindi bababa sa isang diyeta soda sa isang araw ay halos tatlong beses na mas malamang na "magkaroon ng isang ischemic stroke, na dulot ng pagbara ng daluyan ng dugo."

Habang inamin ng mga may-akda ng pag-aaral na ang mga resulta ay nagtatag lamang ng ugnayan at hindi dahilan, itinuturo pa rin nito ang ilangMahalagang pag-uugali sa kalusugan. "Magkaroon ng mas maraming tubig at mas mababa ang diyeta soda,"Christopher Gardner., PhD, Direktor ng Nutrition Studies sa Stanford Prevention Research Center, sinabi sa isang American Heart Association (AHA) Press release, perAng Washington Post. "At huwag lumipat sa tunay na soda."

Kaugnay:Kung umiinom ka ng iyong kape tulad nito, maaari mong madagdagan ang iyong panganib sa kanser, sabi ng pag-aaral.