A Single Soda a Day Hikes Heart Health Risk 48 Percent

OK, so we never thought soda was good for you, but who figured that just one soda a day--either regular or diet — would be associated with a 48 percent increased risk of metabolic syndrome, a key predecessor of heart disease and diabetes? That, at least, is the conclusion of one medical researcher at Boston University. The L.A. Times reports that the study, sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, looked at more than 2,400 middle-age white residents of Framingham, Mass. At the beginning of the study, those who had consumed more than one soda per day — either regular or diet — had a 48% higher risk of having metabolic syndrome.  The team then focused on the more than 1,600 people who did not have metabolic syndrome at the start of the study and followed them for at least four years. The Times reports that those who drank at least one soda a day had a 44% higher risk of developing metabolic syndrome during the four years of the study.
The paper reports that those who drank at least one soda per day also had:
•  a 31% greater risk of becoming obese;
•  a 30% higher risk of having a larger waist line;
•  a 25% higher risk of developing high blood triglycerides or high blood sugar;
•  a 32% greater risk of having low levels of good cholesterol;
•  a trend toward an increased risk of high blood pressure.
Read more in the L.A. Times.