Rising heart attack risk, cancer and premature death from soft drinks

Dr. Mathilde Touvier and 18 other scientists from the French research institution Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (Inserm) have demonstrated in a study with 103,000 subjects that diet colas can cause immense harm to health.
The journal "British Medical Journal" published the study results in May 2022. The dietary habits of the study participants from France were observed for a full twelve years and compared with medical findings.

"Diet cola is just as unhealthy as 'regular' cola – perhaps even more harmful." This is what the physicians write in their study. In particular, the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke is significantly increased when one regularly consumes soft drinks with the three sugar substitutes aspartame, sucralose or acesulfame-K. The more one would drink of these, the greater the risk of premature death. To be precise: Those who regularly consumed large amounts of sweeteners had a heart disease rate of 346 per 100,000. This is ten percent higher than the average rate of 314 per 100,000 for those who do not use sweeteners instead of sugar. The stroke risk among sweetener enthusiasts was 30 percent higher.

The increased mortality risk was only observed in study participants who consumed artificial sweeteners.

If you are now wondering when the researchers are talking about "a lot" of sweetener: According to Dr. Mathilde Touvier, lead study author, a consumption of approximately 77.6 milligrams of sweetener on average is "a lot". Anyone who consumes less than 7.5 milligrams per day consumes "little". For comparison: A soft drink in a 330-milliliter can contains nearly 140 milligrams of sweetener.
The selection of artificial sweeteners is virtually endless.
Worldwide, chemical sweeteners generate approximately 7.2 billion US dollars in annual sales. With an upward trend. By 2028, sales are expected to rise to 9.7 billion US dollars.

The researchers have also demonstrated that artificial sweeteners increase cancer risk by up to 13 percent on average. Given the fact that more and more products in supermarkets are relying on sugar reduction through sweeteners, these figures are alarming. In general, the study authors recommend reducing consumption of sweet foods – whether with real cane sugar or sweeteners.

See also the article: "From the start no evidence for prevention of weight gain through artificial sweeteners."