Regular and Diet Soda Get a Bad Rap in the News : SuperFoodsRx

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Regular and Diet Soda Get a Bad Rap in the News

By Geoffrey R. Harris, MD

This past week, in Circulation, the Journal of the American Heart Association, a large study concerning soft drink consumption was released online. The article was the “editor’s pick” for the week because of its provocative findings. It addressed whether individuals who drank soda were at a higher risk of developing a condition called “metabolic syndrome” and developing risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, including obesity, increased waist circumference, impaired fasting blood sugar, elevated blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol. The study, which is part of the large, well-respected, Framingham Heart Study, found that individuals who drank one or more soft drinks (diet or regular) per day had a 50% higher risk of developing Metabolic Syndrome when compared with individuals who drank less than one soda a week. Metabolic Syndrome puts people at risk for developing heart disease and diabetes.

This is a very interesting result. Soft drinks are big business in this country, and soft drink consumption has been increasing in all age groups over the past 30 years. Many people think that drinking diet soda avoids the calories of regular soda and therefore any health risk. But, in the study, drinking diet soda didn’t make a difference; both regular and diet soda increased the risks. The study found that frequent soda drinkers had a higher rate of having and developing risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. It is important to note that in this study, the authors defined “frequent” as drinking only one or more soda each day. But, the question that many nutritionists and physicians have been asking is, “Is it drinking soda that causes the health problems?”

The study used dietary and lifestyle questionnaires to develop a correlation between drinking soda and developing risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. A study like this can identify and correlate behavior, but it cannot easily prove causality. What I mean is that drinking soda may not cause the problems, but drinking soda is associated with other behaviors that may be the real cause of the problems. For example, soda drinking may be correlated with poor dietary choices. The study also found a trend between increased soda consumption (diet or regular) and increased consumption of trans-fats, higher daily caloric intake, and lower intake of fiber. So, drinking soda could just be a sign of unhealthy dietary choices. A similar study likely could be done looking at cake or brownie consumption and might find similar results with respect to heart disease and diabetes risk. The problem is more complex than just measuring how much soda is consumed.

So, all the soda drinkers who ran out and stopped drinking soda probably aren’t going to dramatically change their risks of developing heart disease and diabetes. The issue isn’t soda or diet soda. The real issue is: “How do the choices we make about what we’re eating affect our health?”.

All of this makes me think of the two rules of nutrition that the well-known, nonagenarian Jack LaLanne told to Katie Couric in a Today show interview: 1) “If man made it, don’t eat it,” and 2) “If it tastes good, spit it out.” While I consider his statements extreme, I’m not going to tell him to his face (even in his nineties, he can probably still put me in my place.) But, his points are worth considering. Avoid processed foods, and think about what you are eating. By the way, I think blueberries, spinach, turkey breast, whole grains, and lots of the other superfoods taste great! Why would I spit them out?

My goal, and the goal of the physicians and nutritionists at SuperfoodsRx, is to identify and promote healthy foods that have been shown to fight disease. The benefit of Dr. Pratt’s SuperFoodsRx books is that they help identify natural, whole foods and promote healthy dietary habits. When I speak with my patients, I always make an effort to educate and empower them to make good choices. I don’t think the answer to avoiding heart disease and diabetes is as simple as drinking less soda. The answer is to choose superfoods that don’t contain the trans-fats (hydrogenated oils), high fructose corn syrups, and high sugar levels found in processed foods. Exercise and staying active are also important. Make good choices and good health will follow.

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