Brain and Sodas, 3

The second study was published in Stroke in April of 2017. Here the researchers, using data only from the older Offspring cohort, looked specifically at whether participants had suffered a stroke or been diagnosed with dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. After measuring volunteers’ beverage intake at three points over seven years, the researchers then monitored the volunteers for 10 years, looking for evidence of stroke in 2,888 people over age 45, and dementia in 1,484 participants over age 60. They found that people who drank at least one diet soda per day were almost three times as likely to develop stroke and dementia. Researcher Matthew Pase reportedly commented that it was somewhat surprising to discover that diet soda consumption led to these outcomes. He added that scientists have put forth various hypotheses about how artificial sweeteners may cause harm, from transforming gut bacteria to altering the brain’s perception of “sweet,” but “we need more work to figure out the underlying mechanisms.”