BRAIN HEALTH AND SOFT DRINKS

Soft drinks, both sugary and diet, negatively impact brain health by increasing risks for stroke, dementia, depression, and cognitive decline through inflammation, oxidative stress, and affecting brain structure and memory, with studies showing links to brain shrinkage and accelerated aging, even impacting early development. Excess sugar overwhelms the liver, impairs immune cells, and high fructose can harm brain development; while artificial sweeteners aren’t better, with daily diet soda drinkers showing increased dementia/stroke risk and faster memory loss.

Effects of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

Inflammation & Oxidative Stress: High sugar intake fuels inflammation and oxidative stress, damaging brain cells and impacting antioxidants like glutathione.

Brain Structure: Linked to smaller brain volume (atrophy) and shrinkage in memory-related areas like the hippocampus, equivalent to several years of brain aging.

Cognitive Decline: Associated with worse memory test scores, potentially aging memory function significantly.

Neurodevelopment: High fructose can impair immune cells in the brain crucial for trimming neurons, potentially leading to anxiety and mood disorders.

Long-Term Risks: Increased risk for stroke, dementia (including Alzheimer’s), depression, and metabolic issues.

Effects of Diet Sodas (Artificially Sweetened)

Dementia/Stroke Risk: Daily diet soda drinkers face a nearly threefold higher risk of stroke and dementia.

Cognitive Decline: Linked to faster memory and thinking skill declines, equivalent to extra brain aging, especially in younger adults and diabetics. 

What to Drink Instead

Water: The best choice to stay hydrated.

Minimize All Sweetened Drinks: This includes sugary sodas, most fruit juices (which are liquid sugar), energy drinks, and sports drinks.

Reduce Artificial Sweeteners: Diet sodas don’t offer a healthy alternative and carry their own risks. 

Research On Connections

“People who more frequently consume sugary beverages such as sodas and fruit juices are more likely to have poorer memory, smaller overall brain volumes and smaller hippocampal volumes–an area of the brain important for memory” Source: Boston University

BIOLOGICAL AGING AND SOFT DRINKS

Soft drinks are loaded with fructose and should be avoided at all times. As the body breaks down fructose, chemical compounds called purines are released. According to a study by the University of San Francisco of more than 5,000 adults, people who reported drinking a 350ml bottle of fizzy drink per day had DNA changes typical of cells 4.6 years older.

Sugary Drinks Tied to Shorter Life Span. “The optimal intake of these drinks is zero,” said Vasanti S. Malik, a research scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.. “They have no health benefits.”

In a research study researchers found that the more sugar-sweetened drinks people consumed, the higher their risk for death. After controlling for many health, behavioral and dietary characteristics, the researchers found that each additional daily 12-ounce serving of sugary drinks was associated with a 7 percent increased risk for death from any cause, a 5 percent increased risk for cancer death, and a 10 percent increased risk for death from cardiovascular disease.

Research On Connections

“As the body breaks down fructose, chemical compounds called purines are released. The breakdown of purines produces uric acid—the substance that forms painful crystals in the joints and causes gout” Source: Mayo Clinic

“The more sugar-sweetened drinks people consumed, the higher their risk for death. After controlling for many health, behavioral and dietary characteristics, the researchers found that each additional daily 12-ounce serving of sugary drinks was associated with a 7 percent increased risk for death from any cause, a 5 percent increased risk for cancer death, and a 10 percent increased risk for death from cardiovascular disease” Source: The New York Times

RECOMMENDED HEALTHY AGING PROTOCOL

“I Drink Soft Drinks Or Soda” Answer = Never