Is Soda Wrecking Your Heart?

Love it or hate it, sweetened drinks are a permanent part of the American diet.

These unhealthy drinks – like soda, diet soda, sweetened juices, and sugary coffees – have consumed—pun intended-- the beverage landscape for decades.

And all jokes aside, it’s led us to a very scary place when it comes to our health and longevity.

Soda’s Dangerous History

You see, many studies show that indulging in sweetened beverages – sugary or sugar-free -- can lead to serious health conditions like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.[1]

Now, we know they can put you at risk for another serious heart condition. Even worse? Your mainstream doctor probably has no idea about this latest health danger.

The Risks of Diet Soda

It’s a no-brainer that sugar-sweetened drinks are bad for you.

That’s because we’ve all heard of the health dangers – like tooth decay, Type-2 diabetes, and weight gain – that come along with consuming lots of sweets.

But when it comes to diet drinks, the mainstream often takes a different stance. They’ll assure you that these artificially sweetened drinks are “perfectly safe” for your waistline and your health despite the mountains of research showing otherwise.

For instance, a 2023 study of 2,300 participants found that folks who consumed the most sodas were at a GREATER risk of developing a liver disease than those who drank fewer or none.

Just last year, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the cancer research branch of the WHO, added aspartame – the “pink” sweetener” to their list of “possibly carcinogenic to humans” list for the very first time.[2] And it’s about time, we’ve been shouting from the rooftops about the risks of aspartame and other similar sweeteners for more than a decade.

Another study of more than 31,000 women found that women who consumed the most artificial sweeteners had a 50 percent increase in their depression risk.[3] 

Why are they so dangerous?

Experts report that these chemicals are bad for your mental and physical health because they can alter your gut microbiome, impacting your insulin and certain brain chemicals. What's more, artificial sweeteners create oxidative stress and inflammation in your body, lowering glutathione levels. 

Glutathione is your body's master antioxidant and is critical to fighting aging. Recent studies show an astounding 86 percent of Americans could be deficient. Taking glutathione supplements can help, so can supplementing with the nutrients that your body uses to support its own natural production of glutathione, such as N-Acetyl L-Cysteine (NAC). 

This means the diet drinks that the mainstream tells you are safe… really AREN’T. And there’s now another health reason to ditch these drinks.

New Danger: Sweetened Drinks Increase A-Fib Risk

In the latest study, researchers examined the outcomes of sweetened drink intake and atrial fibrillation, a type of abnormal heartbeat, in more than 200,000 participants.

In the end, they found that folks drinking more than 8.5 cups of sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened drinks were at GREATER risk of developing A-fib than those who didn’t consume the drinks.

Even worse? Folks consuming artificially- sweetened drinks were at a HIGHER risk than those using sugar drinking.

This was no surprise to me, but other doctors have found it unusual:

"Somewhat surprising was that subjects with increased consumption of artificially sweetened beverages were at the highest risk of incident AF. These findings raise the possibility that artificial sweeteners may have a more important role and contribute to the pathogenesis of AF," reported Robert Koeth, MD, PhD, and two colleagues of Cleveland Clinic.[4]

Ditch These Dangerous Drinks Today!

Now, 8.5 cups may seem like a lot. But the truth is heavy soda drinkers can easily consume this in a day….

So, just imagine what a week’s worth of these drinks could be doing to your body's cells and your heart!

That’s why you need to ditch sweetened drinks for good.

Instead, start drinking unsweetened iced teas and coffees.

Or go for my summertime favorite, plain seltzer water with a few slices of fresh fruit – like pineapple and orange.

This simple drink is refreshing and tasty without risking your heart or your health.