I'll Have Tea, Thanks

A recent study suggests that for a yet undetermined reason, people who drink diet sodas daily are at significantly higher risk for heart attack or stroke.  Is this because of something in diet soda in particular?  The study is not comprehensive enough to cover that yet, but follow ups will shed some light on that.

The study, which followed more than 2,500 New Yorkers for nine or more years, found that people who drank diet soda every day had a 61 percent higher risk of vascular events, including stroke and heart attack, than those who completely eschewed the diet drinks, according to researchers who presented their results today at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference in Los Angeles.

There are many reasons that could contribute to this, but the results are enough to give pause before drinking that next Diet Coke.  Though it is likely to take a while for follow up studies to print conclusions, I'm grateful someone is looking into a potential risk.