Drinks containing artificial sweeteners could increase the risk of developing a heart condition by a fifth, according to a study.
An analysis of data from more than 200,000 UK adults found that people who drank more than two litres of artificially sweetened drinks – the equivalent of six standard 330ml cans – in a week were 20 per cent more likely to develop an irregular heart rhythm known as atrial fibrillation.
The drinks contained sweeteners such as sucralose, aspartame, saccharin or acesulfame which are commonly used as a sugar substitute in drinks such as Diet Coke and Fanta Zero.
Atrial fibrillation is a condition in which the heart beats irregularly, increasing the risk of stroke by five-fold. More than 12 million people worldwide are expected to have the condition by 2030.
The Government recommends that adults should consume no more than 30g of sugar a day – the equivalent of seven sugar cubes.
The study also found that beverages with added sugar – such as white sugar, sucrose or syrup – increased the risk of atrial fibrillation by 10 per cent.
But those who consumed a litre of pure juice a week – such as 100 per cent orange juice – had an 8 per cent lower risk of developing the condition, according to the study by the American Heart Association.
Lead study author Dr Ningjian Wang, a researcher at the Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, said: “Our study’s findings cannot definitively conclude that one beverage poses more health risk than another due to the complexity of our diets and because some people may drink more than one type of beverage.
“However, based on these findings, we recommend that people reduce or even avoid artificially sweetened and sugar-sweetened beverages whenever possible."
Commenting on the research, Victoria Taylor, senior dietician at the British Heart Foundation, said that more studies are needed to have a definitive answer on the link between atrial fibrillation and sweetened drinks.
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She added: “We already know that diets high in sugar are linked to high calorie diets which can cause weight gain and obesity.
“In turn, this increases the chances of developing type 2 diabetes and heart and circulatory diseases.”