Diet Soda Not Cause Diabetes?


What is sodas ? Sodas and other sugary drinks, can increase the risk of pre-diabetes but not so with diet soda, according to a new study.

Previous research on the relationship between diet soda and diabetes may have mixed-mixed. Several studies have shown the potential relationship between diet soda with diabetes, may partly occur on soda drinkers who are overweight or obese.

In this latest study, adults who regularly eat at least one can of soda or sweet drinks each day, 46 percent more likely to experience increase in blood sugar levels than those who rarely or never drink sweet drinks or sodas.

"For consumers of sugary drinks, eliminating the habit may be difficult. Occasionally drink diet soda while increasing fluid intake from other sources, might be the best strategy to finally remove sugary drinks from their lifestyle," said senior study author Nicola McKeown, of Tufts University in Boston.

Globally, about one in nine adults suffer from diabetes, and the disease will be there in the seventh leading cause of death of man in 2030, according to the World Health Organization.

In this study, researchers examined data collected from 1,685 middle-aged adults for about 14 years. At the beginning of the study, none of the volunteers had diabetes or pre-diabetes. The average age of volunteers is 52 years old on average and overweight.

The researchers found that those who drank the most sugary drinks or soda (12 cans per week), have a greater risk of increased blood sugar levels compared to other volunteers.

These results were obtained after adjusting for other factors such as age, gender and body weight, the researchers reported in the Journal of Nutrition.

This research does not directly prove soda or sugary drinks can cause diabetes.

While diet sodas and other low-calorie carbonated beverages are not seen associated with elevated blood sugar or insulin resistance.

However, the researchers concluded, because the condition of pre-diabetes can be prevented from becoming diabetes, it is plausible that many people still avoid regular soda drinks to minimize the risk of diabetes.

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