Metabolic syndrome tied to diet soda

Researchers have found a correlation between drinking diet soda and metabolic syndrome — the collection of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes that include abdominal obesity, high cholesterol and blood glucose levels — and elevated blood pressure. The scientists gathered dietary information on more than 9,500 men and women ages 45 to 64 and tracked their health for nine years. Overall, a Western dietary pattern — high intakes of refined grains, fried foods and red meat — was associated with an 18 percent increased risk for metabolic syndrome, while a ‘prudent’ diet dominated by fruits, vegetables, fish and poultry correlated with neither an increased nor a decreased risk.

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