Soda (including diet soda) and Metabolic Syndrome Linked - BostonU. Study

Poor Diet Behavior, Instead of Soda Ingredients?

" The study's lead author, Dr. Ramachandran S. Vasan of the Boston
University School of Medicine, said it was unlikely that an ingredient
in soda caused the effect. More likely is that consuming sweet sodas
changes dietary patterns or that soda was simply a marker for
participants' poor eating habits, he said. "

Sounds reasonable... the drinker, not the soda, is responsible.


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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...a-tot-national


Diet soda, metabolic syndrome linked
One daily soft drink -- with calories or not -- is associated with much
higher risk of the heart-threatening disorder, a study finds.
By Thomas H. Maugh II, Times Staff Writer
July 24, 2007


Drinking as little as one can of soda a day — regular or diet — is
associated with a 48% increased risk of metabolic syndrome, a key
predecessor of heart disease and diabetes, according to results released
Monday.

Researchers knew that drinking regular sodas contributed to the risk of
metabolic syndrome, but this is the first finding implicating diet
sodas, according to results published online in Circulation: Journal of
the American Heart Assn.

The researchers were uncertain why diet soda seemed to have such a large
effect.

The study's lead author, Dr. Ramachandran S. Vasan of the Boston
University School of Medicine, said it was unlikely that an ingredient
in soda caused the effect. More likely is that consuming sweet sodas
changes dietary patterns or that soda was simply a marker for
participants' poor eating habits, he said.

Dr. Meir Stampfer of the Harvard School of Public Health, who was not
involved in the study, said the findings were not unexpected, although
he added, "I'm surprised by the magnitude of the association."

Stampfer has previously reported that diet sodas increase the risk of
obesity and high blood pressure.

Soda makers rejected the study. "The assertions defy the existing body
of scientific evidence, as well as common sense," said Susan K. Neely,
president and chief executive of the American Beverage Assn.

She continued: "It is scientifically implausible to suggest that diet
soft drinks — a beverage that is 99% water — cause weight gain or
elevated blood pressure."

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of symptoms including excessive
abdominal fat, high blood-glucose levels, high blood pressure, high
blood triglycerides and low levels of high-density lipoprotein, the
so-called good cholesterol.

People with three or more of these symptoms have double the normal risk
of heart disease and diabetes.

In the study, sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute,
Vasan and his colleagues studied more than 2,400 middle-age white
residents of Framingham, Mass.

At the beginning of the study, those who had consumed more than one soda
per day — either regular or diet — had a 48% higher risk of having
metabolic syndrome.

The team then focused on the more than 1,600 people who did not have
metabolic syndrome at the start of the study and followed them for at
least four years.

Those who drank at least one soda a day had a 44% higher risk of
developing metabolic syndrome during the four years of the study.

Those who drank at least one soda per day also had:

• a 31% greater risk of becoming obese;

• a 30% higher risk of having a larger waist line;

• a 25% higher risk of developing high blood triglycerides or high
blood sugar;

• a 32% greater risk of having low levels of good cholesterol;

• a trend toward an increased risk of high blood pressure.

The percentages were the same whether subjects drank regular or diet soda.

Vasan said a great deal of research had shown that people who drank
sodas also tended to have diets higher in calories, saturated fats and
trans fats and lower in fiber. They are also more sedentary.

The authors tried to control for all those factors in the diet, but
"even after all that, we still found an increased risk," he said. "Maybe
it is very difficult to adjust for lifestyle."

Another possibility is that drinking soda with a meal reduces the
feeling of satiety, so that the person eats more at the next meal, he said.

Alternatively, drinking sweet sodas may get people used to a sweet taste
and "into the snacking mode," Stampfer said. "It's not the artificial
sweetener, but what goes along with it."

None of those theories, however, has been confirmed by experiments.

"Our task is to report associations," Vasan said. "We do not claim that
this is a causal link. It is up to scientists to help us understand this
better."

In a statement on Monday, the American Heart Assn. said that diet soda
remained "a good option to replace caloric beverages that do not contain
important vitamins and minerals."

Water, diet soft drinks and fat-free or low-fat milk remain better
choices than full-calorie soft drinks, the group said.

On Jul 24, 6:37 am, jim buch wrote:
Poor Diet Behavior, Instead of Soda Ingredients?

" The study's lead author, Dr. Ramachandran S. Vasan of the Boston
University School of Medicine, said it was unlikely that an ingredient
in soda caused the effect. More likely is that consuming sweet sodas
changes dietary patterns or that soda was simply a marker for
participants' poor eating habits, he said. "

Sounds reasonable... the drinker, not the soda, is responsible.

Thanks for sharing, Jim.

I'm thinking there's probably a lot more going on here than just soda
is bad.
Maybe the caffeine ramps metabolism but also ramps the hunger more?
Definitely
am with you though... the responsibility is on the consumer until
proven otherwise,
and this doesn't show that.

jim buch wrote:
:: Poor Diet Behavior, Instead of Soda Ingredients?
::
:: " The study's lead author, Dr. Ramachandran S. Vasan of the Boston
:: University School of Medicine, said it was unlikely that an
:: ingredient
:: in soda caused the effect. More likely is that consuming sweet sodas
:: changes dietary patterns or that soda was simply a marker for
:: participants' poor eating habits, he said. "
::
:: Sounds reasonable... the drinker, not the soda, is responsible.
::

Why don't we substitute watching Tv instead of drinking soda, diet or not?

Good to see you back Jim.

Many of the people I know who always drink diet soda use it to wash down their
hot dog and potato chips.

BillJ wrote:
Many of the people I know who always drink diet soda use it to wash down their
hot dog and potato chips.



I usually found that my soda consumption would be come "addictive" or
some form of a compulsion.

When I finally got my soda consumption under control, I believe I may
have gone on to get more of my diet under control, and then ate healthier.

The impression of my "addiction" to cola drinks was/is quite strong.

Jim

"jim buch" wrote in message
...
BillJ wrote:
Many of the people I know who always drink diet soda use it to wash down
their
hot dog and potato chips.



I usually found that my soda consumption would be come "addictive" or some
form of a compulsion.

When I finally got my soda consumption under control, I believe I may have
gone on to get more of my diet under control, and then ate healthier.

The impression of my "addiction" to cola drinks was/is quite strong.

I am heavily addicted to diet soda w. caffiene. One thing at a time. I'm
working on my weight #1, then #2 is smoking. Soda, I think, should be #3.
That's it! Then I can be a moremoney if I want. Oh, wait, yah, almost
forgot, women and crack cocaine.




Jim

On 24 Jul 2007 08:01:00 -0700, BillJ wrote:

Many of the people I know who always drink diet soda use it to wash down their
hot dog and potato chips.

Exactly.

On Tue, 24 Jul 2007 14:29:43 -0500, valvejob wrote:

On 24 Jul 2007 08:01:00 -0700, BillJ wrote:

Many of the people I know who always drink diet soda use it to wash down their
hot dog and potato chips.

Exactly.

I use diet tonic to dilute my vodka. Is that OK?

Jo Anne

On Jul 24, 10:19 pm, Jo Anne wrote:
On Tue, 24 Jul 2007 14:29:43 -0500, valvejob wrote:
On 24 Jul 2007 08:01:00 -0700, BillJ wrote:

Many of the people I know who always drink diet soda use it to wash down their
hot dog and potato chips.

Exactly.

I use diet tonic to dilute my vodka. Is that OK?

As long as it's diet vodka.

I don't know why anyone is surprised that diet soda and metabolic
syndrome are found together. It seems quite logical to me. Many
people who are obese, have metabolic syndrome, etc, know that sugar is
bad for them. So, they choose diet sodas as one step to try to limit
their intake of sugar. That doesn't mean that they will no longer
have metabolic syndrome or not still be obese. We;ve all seen fat
people eat pig out meals and wash it down with a diet coke, haven't
we?

Unless the statistics are adjusted to account for this, it seems
logical that many of those with metabolic syndrome would be drinking
diet soda. This is like being surprised that people with arthritis
consume aspirin and trying to imply a cause and effect.