Sugary Beverages and Rising Stroke Risk

Every 40 seconds, a person suffers from a stroke and every 4 minutes, someone dies from a stroke in the United States. Stroke is the number one cause of long-term disability and the number five cause of deaths in the US, killing more than one hundred thousand people every year. If you do not want to end up as one of the casualties of stroke, please consider making choices that will help to minimize your risk of developing stroke. Some of the risk factors for stroke include smoking, diabetes, genetics, obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, elevated serum levels of cholesterol, and brain aneurysm. As well, a team of researchers from Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute has shown in their study that high intake of sugary beverages is associated with the development of stroke.

For this study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers examined the sugary beverage consumption rates of more than 40,000 men and over 80,000 women recruited from the Health Professionals Follow Up Study and the Nurses' Health Study. The sugared drink intake levels of the men and women were tracked for 22 years. At the end of the study period, the researchers concluded that subjects who regularly consumed generous quantities of sugared beverages were more likely to develop stroke than their counterparts who drank no soda. A total of 2,938 incidences of stroke were recorded among the men and 1,416 cases of stroke were documented among the women in this study.

This study is not the only study that has found a connection between habitual consumption of sugary beverages and elevated stroke risk. The findings of a 2017 study showed that a surge in stroke risk is associated with increased intake of sugary drinks. Though the mechanism behind the stroke-promoting action of sugary drinks is yet to be identified, researchers believed that regular intake of sugary beverages sets off a cascade of reactions in the body that can potentially lead to many diseases, including stroke.  We do know, from Dr. Vogel's Brachial Artery Tourniquet Test, that concentrated sweeteners hurt the endothelial cells that line the arteries, whether those sweeteners are agave, honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, or corn syrup. 

The more risk factors an individual has, the higher the chances of developing stroke. Avoiding habits that increase the likelihood of developing stroke, such as habitual drinking of sugary beverages, may help ward off a stroke. By simply putting a stop to the consumption of soda, an individual can remove one of the risk factors for stroke, thus reducing his/her chances of having stroke.

Additional Information:

(1) Sugary Drinks Linked to 180,000 Deaths Worldwide

(2) Soda Consumption and the Risk of Stroke in Men and Women

(3) What Diseases Come From Eating Too Much Sugar?