Health x Wellness
Daily Soda Intake Increases Heart Attack Risk
Multiple studies from various sources indicate that anyone who drinks two or more glasses of sodas a day may have a greater risk of heart failure.
The studies, which came from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Harvard School of Public Health in USA as well as Japan’s Fukuoka University, all came to the same conclusion; drinking soda in excess can really kill.
In Sweden, study leader Susanna Larsson and colleagues assessed the soda consumption habits of about 42,000 men for an average of approximately 12 years. In the process, they asked the men how many soft drinks or sweetened juices they drank per day or per week. Over the course of the study, there were about 3,600 new cases of heart failure.
In Japan, the sample was even bigger, with the study involving data from 800,000 people. In Japan, researchers found that the more money people spent on sodas, the more likely they were to suffer from heart attacks of cardiac origin. Keijiro Saku, a study author and professor of cardiology at Fukuoka University, postulated that “acids used in the manufacturing of sodas might play an important role in this association.”
Over in USA, the Harvard School of Public Health study that was based mainly on the health journals of 43,000 men over 22 years, found that drinking 12-ounces of sugar-sweetened sodas, sports drinks, energy drinks or fruit drinks daily was associated with a 20 percent higher risk of coronary artery disease, other studies such as the one from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, have found a similar association in women.
Taking all the reports generated by the studies into account, along with other factors, such as genetic pre-disposition, body mass index, exercise levels, and diet, it is clear to see that a combination of them are behind the findings. The studies all came to the same conclusion that daily drinkers of soda and other sweetened beverages had elevated triglycerides, decreased HDL (‘good’ cholesterol), and higher levels of inflammation markers, all of these which are linked to heart disease. Maybe it’s time you cut down on some of that joy juice.
