- Diet sodas are often marketed as products that help with weight management.
- A new study suggests that heavy diet soda consumption may promote metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) onset by increasing body mass index (BMI).
- Prior studies suggest that diet soda consumption is linked to higher BMI and blood pressure.
- Health experts agree that diet sodas may promote weight gain and liver disease.
- Excessive intake of artificial sweeteners found in diet sodas may also raise the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is one of the most prevalent liver diseases. Current estimates suggest MASLD affects up to
MASLD was formerly called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and renamed in
The disease, marked by excess fat accumulation in the liver, has no initial symptoms. It can progress to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a more serious condition that can lead to liver scarring and cirrhosis.
Currently, no medication has been approved to treat this form of liver disease. Doctors recommend exercise and dietary changes to help reduce body fat in preventing or reversing MASLD.
Health experts have long considered that soda consumption may increase MASLD risk by inducing insulin resistance and inflammation in the liver.
While diet sodas often tout claims like “zero sugar” and “zero calories,” these are not considered healthful beverages by experts.
Now, a research team set out to find an association between heavy consumption of diet soda and MASLD risk. Their work, recently published in
“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the association between diet soda consumption and MASLD in a nationally representative sample, and our findings can provide valuable dietary recommendations for the prevention and…
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