Diet soda linked to stroke, cardiac risk

[Smokey]

I drink two to three regular sodas a day, and this news about diet soda which suppose to be healthier (for lack of better word ) is not too comforting.

LOS ANGELES - It's far from definitive proof, but new research raises concern about diet soda, finding higher risks for stroke and heart attack among people who drink it everyday versus those who drink no soda at all.

"This needs to be viewed as a preliminary study but for those trying to cut calories, diet soft drinks may not be an optimal substitute for sugar-sweetened beverages," said lead researcher Hannah Gardener of the University of Miami.

The numbers come from the Northern Manhattan study, which enrolled about 2,500 adults over 40 in the New York area from 1993 to 2001 through random phone calls. Participants filled out a standard survey about their diets at the start of the study, and their health was tracked for nearly 10 years. In that time there were 559 strokes or heart attacks, 338 of them fatal.

Daily diet soda drinkers (there were 116 in the study) had a 48 percent higher risk of stroke or heart attack than people who drank no soda of any kind (901 people, or 35 percent of total participants). That's after taking into account rates of smoking, diabetes, waistline size and other differences among the groups.

No significant differences in risk were seen among people who drank a mix of diet and regular soda.

A simple solution, health experts say, is to drink water instead.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41499101