A new scientific advisory is warning children and teens not to have diet drinks but suggests adults can have them as an alternative beverage if they’re having trouble replacing sugary drinks with healthier options like water and milk. The scientific advisory from the American Heart Association (AHA) published in the journal Circulation last fortnight follows a clutch of studies that have linked artificially sweetened drinks with dementia, weight gain, diabetes, heart disease and stroke, among other health problems.
The American Diabetes Association recommends that diet drinks as a substitute for sugary beverages. According to the AHA, artificially-sweetened drinks are useful for short-term weight control, but the healthiest alternative is replacing sugary drinks with water. The only exception was made for children with diabetes, who when eating a balanced diet and closely monitoring their blood sugar, can substitute low-calorie drinks for sugary ones when needed.
Professor Rachel K. Johnson said, “It is clear that there is a need for further research on the effects of low-calorie sweetened beverages as they pertain to energy balance, cardiometabolic risk factors, and risk of CVD and other chronic diseases.”
According to study, “Artificially-sweetened drinks help in weight loss, particularly when accompanied with behavioural weight-loss counselling, but long-term consumption leads to weight gain and health problems, including type-2 diabetes, stroke, and non-alcoholic fatty liver. Artificial sweeteners lead to diabetes by inducing glucose intolerance by altering the intestinal microbiota.”
