Does Drinking Diet Soda Lead to Heart Attacks and Strokes?

Over the years, I have developed something of a diet soda addiction. Even if I am drinking the diet soda with something unhealthy, I figure at least I am not adding extra calories with sugary soda. But new research suggests that I may be fooling myself.

A study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine says that people who drink diet soda every day have a higher risk of heart attacks and strokes. The researchers looked at more than 2,500 New York City adults who were at least 69 years old at the start of the study. They followed the participants for a decade. In that time, nearly 600 had a heart attack, stroke or died of causes related to cardiovascular disease, including nearly a third of the people who drank at least one diet soda a day. Overall, the diet soda drinkers had a 44 percent higher risk of heart attack or stroke compared to non-diet soda drinkers.

The researchers aren't saying that diet soda caused these heart attacks or strokes. What they found was an association, which means that the drinking diet soda was associated with a higher risk. That could be because people who drink diet soda are more likely to be heavier than normal and more likely to have risk factors for heart disease such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.

Right now, this study isn't a reason to stop drinking diet soda, but it is a reason to think about everything else you put in your mouth. A cheeseburger and fries just isn't a healthy lunch — even if you wash it all down with a Diet Coke.