With a new semester comes an influx of caffeine consumption, primarily through sugar-laden sodas and energy drinks, to get back into the swing of classes after winter vacation. What few know are the dangerous effects artificially sweetened drinks have on the body not only physically, but also – as recently discovered – mentally.
Soft drinks are one of the most-consumed beverages in the United States. Soda, along with milk, accounts for 39.1 percent of beverage consumption among college students. A press release from the American Academy of Neurology on Jan. 8 announced new findings that suggest sweetened drinks such as sodas and fruit punch may play a role in depression.
“Sweetened beverages, coffee and tea are commonly consumed worldwide and have important physical – and may have important mental – health consequences,” study author Honglei Chen, MD, PhD, said in the press release.
The study measured the amount and types of beverages consumed from 1995 to 1996 in participants 50 to 71 years of age. Researchers contacted the participants 10 years later and found that of the almost 264,000 people, 11,311 of them had developed depression since the year 2000.
They also found those who consumed four or more cans of soda a day were 30 percent more likely to develop depression as well as those that drank four cups of fruit punch were 38 percent more likely to develop depression than those who didn’t drink either product. Those who drank coffee, however, were 10 percent less likely to acquire depression.
“Our research suggests that cutting out or down on sweetened diet drinks or replacing them with unsweetened coffee may naturally help lower your depression risk,” Chen said, but added that those prescribed depression medication should continue taking their medications unless advised otherwise by their physician.
A possible culprit: aspartame, a low calorie sweetener found in many diet drinks. The obvious beverages containing the artificial sweetener are diet sodas like Coke Zero or Diet Pepsi, but aspartame unsuspectingly lurks in other drinks most wouldn’t even consider, even those thought of as a healthy option. Take for instance flavored water.
“A lot of people grab a flavored water thinking it is good because they are drinking water, but it’s adding aspartame into their diet,” Katie Nowell, a senior studying nutrition at The University of Alabama, said. “It’s very misleading.”
Artificial sweeteners have proven a reliable tool in weight loss, but like all things health related, moderation is key. Read all labels and keep artificially sweetened products to a bare minimum.
