Health
Major study of diet drinks raises questions about their health impact
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Swapping your regular soda for a diet version may not be any healthier for the liver, new research suggests.
A study of UK Biobank data found that both sugary drinks and artificially sweetened ones, even those labeled zero sugar, are linked to a higher risk of liver disease.
Th findings were presented this week at United European Gastroenterology Week in Berlin, Germany.
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The study followed more than 120,000 adults over 10 years. None of them had liver disease when the research began.
Over time, scientists tracked what the participants drank and also assessed their liver health.
Those who drank diet drinks — low- or non-sugar-sweetened beverages — had a higher risk of liver disease, the study found. (iStock)
People who drank a lot of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) — like soda, sweet tea or energy drinks — had about a 50% higher risk of developing a serious liver condition called metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), also known as fatty liver disease not caused by alcohol.
“SSBs have long been under scrutiny, while their diet alternatives are often seen as the healthier choice,” lead author Lihe Liu, a graduate student in the Department of Gastroenterology at the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China, said in a press release.
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However, those who drank diet drinks — low- or non-sugar-sweetened beverages (or LNSSBs) — had an even higher risk of liver disease, at around 60%.
That implies that switching from regular to diet soda didn’t protect their livers — and might have made things even worse.
Replacing either beverage with water reduced liver disease risk by as much as 15%, while substitution between the two types of beverages offered no risk reduction. (iStock)
People who regularly drank artificially sweetened drinks were also more likely to die from liver-related causes, the research suggested.
“Our study shows that LNSSBs were actually linked to a higher risk of MASLD, even at modest intake levels such as a single can per day,” Liu said.
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“These findings challenge the common perception that these drinks are harmless and highlight the need to reconsider their role in diet and liver health,” she added.
As to why zero-sugar might be harmful, scientists think it may have to do with how artificial sweeteners affect the body.
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They have been shown to alter gut bacteria, increase cravings for sweets and confuse the brain’s hunger and fullness signals, for example.
Some research even suggests they may still trigger insulin spikes, something that is usually blamed on sugar.
Some research suggests that diet drinks may still trigger insulin spikes, something that is usually blamed on sugar. (iStock)
Liu said the safest approach is to limit both sugar-sweetened and artificially-sweetened drinks.
Swapping sugary or diet soda for water was shown to reduce liver disease risk by as much as 15%, while substitution between the two types of beverages offered no risk reduction.
“Water remains the best choice, as it removes the metabolic burden and prevents fat accumulation in the liver, whilst hydrating the body,” the researcher noted.
Liver disease is already one of the fastest-growing health problems worldwide, affecting approximately 4.5 million U.S. adults, according to CDC data.
As the full study had not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, potential limitations of the study were not available.
“Water remains the best choice, as it removes the metabolic burden and prevents fat accumulation in the liver, whilst hydrating the body,” the researcher said. (iStock)
Some experts, however, pointed out that the beverage consumption was self-reported and may have some inaccuracies. The observational study also identifies an association, but does not prove that the beverages caused liver issues.
The Calorie Control Council, the international association representing the low- and reduced-calorie food and beverage industry, echoed these potential limitations.
“The public should demand science-based findings, especially those intended to inform their food and beverage choices,” said Carla Saunders, president of the Calorie Control Council in Washington, D.C., in a statement to Fox News Digital. “One such peer-reviewed long-term clinical trial published in the International Journal of Obesity proved that low- and no calorie sweetened beverages are just as effective as water in terms of safety and efficacy.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to the American Beverage Association and to the study researchers requesting comment.
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A new report by the American Heart Association (AHA) included some troubling predictions for the future of women’s health.
The forecast, published in the journal Circulation on Wednesday, projected increases in various comorbidities in American females by 2050.
More than 59% of women were predicted to have high blood pressure, up from less than 49% currently.
The review also projected that more than 25% of women will have diabetes, compared to about 15% today, and more than 61% will have obesity, compared to 44% currently.
As a result of these risk factors, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7%.
The prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke in women is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7% by 2050. (iStock)
Not all trends were negative, as unhealthy cholesterol prevalence is expected to drop to about 22% from more than 42% today, the report stated.
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Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, a cardiologist and founder of Step One Foods in Minnesota, commented on these “jarring findings.”
“The fact that on our current trajectory, cardiometabolic disease is projected to explode in women within one generation should be a huge wake-up call,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“Hypertension, diabetes, obesity — these are all major risk factors for heart disease, and we are already seeing what those risks are driving. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, eclipsing all other causes of death, including breast cancer.”
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. and around the world. (iStock)
Klodas warned that heart disease starts early, progresses “stealthily,” and can present “out of the blue in devastating ways.”
The AHA published another study on Thursday revealing one million hospitalizations, showing that heart attack deaths are climbing among adults below the age of 55.
The more alarming finding, according to Klodas, is that young women were found more likely to die after their first heart attack than men of the same age.
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“This is all especially tragic since heart disease is almost entirely preventable,” she said. “The earlier you start, the better.”
Children can show early evidence of plaque deposition in their arteries, which can be reversed through lifestyle changes if “undertaken early enough and aggressively enough,” according to the expert.
Moving more is one part of protecting a healthy heart, according to experts. (iStock)
Klodas suggested that rising heart conditions are associated with traditional risk factors, like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.
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Doctors are also seeing higher rates of preeclampsia, or high blood pressure during pregnancy, as well as gestational diabetes. Klodas noted that these are sex-specific risk factors that don’t typically contribute to complications until after menopause.
The best way to protect a healthy heart is to “do the basics,” Klodas recommended, including the following lifestyle habits.
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Klodas especially emphasized making improvements to diet, as the food people eat affects “every single risk factor that the AHA’s report highlights.”
“High blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, excess weight – these are all conditions that are driven in part or in whole by food,” she said. “We eat multiple times every single day, which means what we eat has profound cumulative effects over time.”
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health,” a doctor said. (iStock)
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health.”
The doctor also recommends changing out a few snacks per day for healthier choices, which has been proven to “yield medication-level cholesterol reductions” in a month.
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“Keep up that small change and, over the course of a year, you could also lose 20 pounds and reduce your sodium intake enough to avoid blood pressure-lowering medications,” Klodas added.
“Women should not view the AHA report as inevitable. We have power over our health destinies. We just need to use it.”
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Nearsightedness (myopia) is skyrocketing globally, with nearly half of the world’s population expected to be myopic by 2050, according to the World Health Organization.
Heavy use of smartphones and other devices is associated with an 80% higher risk of myopia when combined with excessive computer use, but a new study suggests that dim indoor lighting could also be a factor.
For years, scientists have been puzzled by the different ways myopia is triggered. In lab settings, it can be induced by blurring vision or using different lenses. Conversely, it can be slowed by something as simple as spending time outdoors, research suggests.
Nearsightedness occurs when the eyeball grows too long from front to back, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). This physical elongation causes light to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on it, making distant objects appear blurry.
The study suggests that myopia isn’t caused by the digital devices themselves, but by the low-light environments where they are typically used. (iStock)
Researchers at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry identified a potential specific trigger for this growth. When someone looks at a phone or a book up close, the pupil naturally constricts.
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“In bright outdoor light, the pupil constricts to protect the eye while still allowing ample light to reach the retina,” Urusha Maharjan, a SUNY Optometry doctoral student who conducted the study, said in a press release.
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“When people focus on close objects indoors, such as phones, tablets or books, the pupil can also constrict — not because of brightness, but to sharpen the image,” she went on. “In dim lighting, this combination may significantly reduce retinal illumination.”
High-intensity natural light prevents myopia because it provides enough retinal stimulation to override the “stop growing” signal, even when pupils are constricted. (iStock)
The hypothesis suggests that when the retina is deprived of light during extended close-up work, it sends a signal for the eye to grow.
In a dim environment, the narrowed pupil allows so little light through that the retinal activity isn’t strong enough to signal the eye to stop growing, the researchers found.
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In contrast, being outdoors provides light levels much brighter than indoors. This ensures that even when the pupil narrows to focus on a nearby object, the retina still receives a strong signal, maintaining healthy eye development.
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The team noted some limitations of the study, including the small subject group and the inability to directly measure internal lens changes, as the bright backgrounds used to mimic the outdoors made pupils too small for standard equipment.
Researchers believe that increasing indoor brightness during close-up work could be a simple, testable way to slow the global nearsightedness epidemic. (iStock)
“This is not a final answer,” Jose-Manuel Alonso, MD, PhD, SUNY distinguished professor and senior author of the study, said in the release.
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“But the study offers a testable hypothesis that reframes how visual habits, lighting and eye focusing interact.”
The study was published in the journal Cell Reports.
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