Drinking This Twice Daily May Increase Your Dementia Risk
WHAT TYPES OF BEVERAGES do you enjoy? I enjoy a single cup of espresso each morning, a mid-morning cup of tea, and copious amounts of water throughout the day. Years ago, I began to wean extra sugar out of my diet slowly. I am glad I did, as a new study hints at a connection between the consumption of sugary drinks and the risk of dementia.
First, the usual caveat: Association is not causality. With that disclaimer in hand, let’s look at a 2017 study published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia. A research team analyzed data collected from 4,000 individuals in the Framingham Heart Study’s Offspring and Third-Generation cohorts.
Each subject had an assessment of their beverage consumption habits. Looking at those who consumed two sugary beverages a day — which included soda, fruit juice, or other soft drinks — as well as those who consumed more than three drinks of just soda alone weekly.
Using cognitive tests and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the scientists discovered that:
Participants who consumed two sugary drinks daily demonstrated “multiple signs of accelerated brain aging, including smaller overall brain volume, poorer episodic memory, and a shrunken hippocampus.” Such changes are risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease.
