Recently, a few studies have concentrated on the correlation
between different drinks and how they can affect our health.
New research has tried to answer the question: Do artificially sweetened fizzy drinks
correlate with diabetes type 2 and if so, how? Dr. Romaguera-Bosh from
Imperial College London, along with researchers from the InterAct Consortium,
has found that even after accounting for body-mass index (BMI) and energy
intake, the risk of diabetes type 2 increases 18% with a daily consumption of
336 ml. The figure is 22% without making the adjustment for known risk factors.
This suggests that an individual has a 1 in 5 increased chance of getting type
2 diabetes just because of drinking a fizzy drink a day (336ml). The study has
a very substantial sample size, as it is based on data from 350,000 people
living in eight different European Countries. The findings correlate with a
previous American study, which had found 25% increase of type 2 diabetes when
drinking daily a sugar-sweetened drink.
Another study from last October by Beulens et al, published
by the Journal of Internal Medicine, had looked at the link between alcohol and
type 2 diabetes. Results suggested that moderate alcohol intake for women and
normal alcohol intake for men can decrease the risk of diabetes. This inverse
association (alcohol intake and lower diabetes risk) was more evident when
looking at overweight individuals, with wine being the alcoholic drink most
strongly associated with the reduced chance of developing type 2 diabetes. I
need to emphasise that this study should not be used as a green light to go out
and get bladdered on alcohol. The results were interesting and the health benefits
associated with moderate alcohol consumption are well documented but the operative
word here is “moderate”!
Our advice to all patients is to avoid artificially
sweetened fizzy drinks on a regular basis. This advice is especially appropriate
for overweight or obese patients. Many people focus only on their food intake,
blissfully ignorant of the damaging impact of the large quantities of sugars in
their cans of pop. This study (and the wide currency that it is receiving) may
help to alert the public to the risks.