A new study has shown that drinking diet soda results in an increased risk of vascular events such as stroke, heart attack, and vascular death. The researchers found that people who drank diet soft drinks daily were 43 percent more likely to have suffered a vascular event.
Previous research has already shown very serious long-term health consequences of diet soda consumption, primarily due to highly toxic additives and artificial sweeteners such as sodium benzoate, aspartame (NutraSweet), acesulfame potassium (Ace-K), sucralose (Splenda) and high-fructose corn syrup.
According to the study:
"Daily diet soft drink consumption was associated with several vascular risk factors and with an increased risk for vascular events. Further research is needed before any conclusions can be made regarding the potential health consequences of diet soft drink consumption."
If you want to decrease your risk of stroke, however, one of the best things you can do is get some sunshine. A research team recently used NASA satellite data to determine how sunlight corresponded with stroke risk, and found that people who got less than the midpoint level of sun exposure were at a 60% increased risk for stroke. The connection is most like the “sunshine vitamin”, vitamin D, which is produced when your body is exposed to sunlight. Vitamin D has been associated with a lower risk of stroke and heart attack risk in previous research.