In a new study, researchers found that sugary drinks and artificially sweetened beverages are linked to a higher risk of heart disease.
The finding suggests artificially sweetened beverages may not be the healthy alternative they are often claimed to be.
Research has shown that diets including beverages sweetened with sugar can have a negative impact on cardio-metabolic health.
Artificially sweetened drinks have been suggested as a healthier alternative, but their impact on cardiovascular health is not fully known.
In this study, researchers looked at data from the French NutriNet-Santé cohort to test the link between the risk of heart disease and consuming sugary drinks and artificially sweetened drinks.
Records for 104,760 participants were included. They were asked to fill out three validated web-based 24-hour dietary records every six months.
Artificially sweetened beverages were defined as those containing non-nutritive sweeteners. Sugary drinks consisted of all beverages containing 5% or more sugar.
The team found compared to non-consumers, both higher consumers of sugary drinks and of artificially sweetened beverages had higher risks of the first incident of heart disease.
In addition to a higher risk of heart health issues, the team says the study may have further regulatory implications.
The findings suggest artificially sweetened beverages may not be a healthy substitute for sugar drinks, and these data provide additional arguments to fuel the current debate on taxes, labeling and regulation of sugary drinks and artificially sweetened beverages.
Researchers said to establish a causal link between sugary and artificially sweetened beverages and heart disease, replication in large-scale prospective studies and mechanistic investigations will be needed.
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The study is published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. One author of the study is Eloi Chazelas.
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