One Glass Of Fizzy Drink A Day Rises Stroke Risk In Women

Those who are trying to lose weight, or those who want to follow healthy lifestyle and healthy nutrition rules know that they should avoid certain foods and certain cooking styles in order to decrease calorie intake and lower unhealthy fat consumption. First of all, it is necessary to cut off sugar and white flour consumption, that means totally avoiding eating most of desserts. Second important rule is stop consuming fried foods and use healthy cooking styles like roasting or grilling. However, a great deal of those who are on diet are usually focused mainly on what they eat rather than what they drink. This way, negative effects of fizzy drinks, carbonated drinks, soda, commercially produced fruit juices, and other kinds of sweet drinks are very often overlooked, and many of us still believe that drinking a glass of orange or apple juice from supermarket will not bring much of harm.

However, numerous studies have shown that consuming sweet drinks is linked to numerous health risks and problems. In particular, a group of scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health discovered that giving up drinking sweet beverages (including sweetened tea or coffee) and drinking good amounts of water on a daily basis can substantially lower our risks of developing such a common disease as diabetes mellitus. These findings are very important and they give us a very effective way to lower our diabetes risks with almost no efforts. Also, consuming sweet drinks increases our chances to suffer from obesity and develop all related health conditions including serious cardiovascular diseases. A recent research of a group of Japanese scientists has contributed in understanding the links between sweet drink consumption and increased risk for stroke. It is reported that the researchers found out that daily consumption of fizzy drinks dramatically rises the ischemic stroke risk in modern women.

The team of scientists at Osaka University followed about 40 Japanese man and women aged between 40 and 59 for more than 18 years. Such factors as dietary habits of the participants, their lifestyle and other important issues were thoroughly monitored and documented. It turned out that after an 18-year period of time, almost 2,000 participants had an ischemic stroke. After studying the factors that could have caused or play a role in developing this health conditions, the researchers came across the habit of those participants who suffered from a stroke to consume a glass or two of sweet drink every day. After analyzing and taking into account other related factors, the Osaka scientists found out that daily consumption of sugary drink every day is linked with up to 83 per cent higher risk for stroke compared to the risk of those who do not consume fizzy drinks that often.

It is very interesting that the mentioned connections between sweet drink consumption and increased ischemic stroke risk were found only in women, but men did not demonstrate any clear link between those two factors. Also, according to the report about the study which is about to be published in December issue of  the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, no links were found out between daily fizzy drink consumption and haemorrhagic strokes or heart disease. ‘Soft drink intake was positively associated with risk of only ischemic stroke and only for women,’ the authors if the study wrote in the report.

Ischemic stroke (a type of stroke when a clot blocks blood supply to brain) is considered the most common form of a stroke which accounts for about 85 per cent of stroke cases. Haemorrhagic strokes (when a blood vessel in brain bursts) are considered the second common type of this disease. Stroke is a very serious health condition which is currently among the leading causes of deaths of people on earth being surpassed only by cancer and heart disease. It is estimated that in the UK, strokes kill about 200 people every day, leaving thousands disabled and living very low quality life. According to the reports, British government spends about £2.3 billion a year for treating and supporting those people who had a stroke. It is very important to learn as much as possible about all major factors which can cause or increase our risk for stroke. You can read more about this interesting study and find detailed information about the findings in the report.

Author Info: Hi! My name is Carla and I am a 5th year medical student at HYMS. I am interested in alternative medicine and I have done months researching the topic of herbal medicine. Besides, I like interviewing people and learning more about their experiences with one or another type of herbal treatments. I am willing to contribute to this site with my knowledge, and I would be happy to help you out to the best of my ability with any specific questions or problems related to alternative medicine.

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