Diet soft drinks are considered the "healthier" alternative to high fructose corn syrup and empty calories. But the truth is that diet drinks have an evil side: new research confirms that diet soda can seriously increase your risk for heart attack and stroke. But in spite of this - and many other studies that warn us of the harmful side effects of diet soda - Diet Coke remains a staunch supporter of the Heart for Truth Campaign.
In the latest study, researchers looked at 10 years of data from 2,564 individuals enrolled in the Northern Manhattan Study. The link between diet soda and serious health issues was undeniable:
those who drank diet soda on a daily basis were 43 percent more likely to experience heart attacks, stroke or vascular death.
Supporting heart disease awareness...or causing heart disease?
This may be the most recent study connecting diet soda to serious health problems, but it's far from the first. Diet drinks have been linked in previous studies to diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome. Other studies confirm the link between diet soda and heart problems. Suffice it to say there is no lack of research to support the idea that diet soda is a hazard to our long-term health.
But Diet Coke tries to preserve its positive image with marketing strategies that emphasize its support for Heart for Truth, a campaign that aims to increase heart disease awareness. Cute heart graphics are plastered on billions of cans of Diet Coke, while celebrities like Heidi Klum and Minka Kelly give public support of Diet Coke's campaign.
While Diet Coke makes a show of supporting heart disease awareness, it certainly isn't going out of its way to make customers aware of the possible dangers that may await them at the bottom of every can of diet soda. It seems like Diet Coke wants to sweep the evidence right under the rug.
If Diet Coke officials were truly concerned with heart health, they would simply pull their product from the shelves and apologize for endangering the public's health for the last several decades. But since that would seriously squelch profit margins, they'd prefer to alleviate their guilt by painting red hearts all over their cans instead.
Sources for this article include:http://www.myhealthnewsdaily.com/2208-diet-soda-heart-attack-risk.htmlhttp://well.blogs.nytimes.comhttp://www.metronews.ca
