It’s true. According to a new study, drinking just one diet soda per day can triple your risk of brain fog and stroke.

The study, published in the science journal Stroke, looked at the consumption of beverages sweetened with sugar and artificial sweeteners. The interesting thing is that the increased risk was not seen with just sugary drinks. In fact, according to researchers there wasn’t even a hint of evidence that sugary drinks caused strokes or forgetfulness.

Drinking One Diet Drink A Day Can Triple Risk Of Brain Fog And Strokes

However, Boston University researchers found aspartame, a low-calorie sweetener, severely damages the arteries – as opposed to sugar-sweetened drinks. What this means is that drinking diet soda is far worse for your health than drinking regular soda sweetened with sugar.

The results of the study showed that adults who had one or more diet drinks a day were 2.9 times more likely to develop brain fog and increased their risk by 3 times of having a stroke, when compared to those who didn’t drink any.

The research team from Boston University believes that the artificial sweeteners including aspartame and saccharine may have a negative effect on blood vessels, which can eventually trigger strokes and brain fog.

Data was collected on 2,888 adults older than 45 and 1,484 adults older than 60 from the town of Framingham, Massachusetts. This data came from the Framingham Heart Study, a project of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and Boston University.

Over seven years, the research team used food frequency questionnaires up to three different points in time. They then followed up for the next 10 years to determine who developed stroke and brain fog.

At the end of the follow-up period, researchers counted 97 strokes, or 3 percent of the participants in the stroke analysis arm of the study. Of those, 82 were ischemic. The study also found 81 cases of brain fog, or 5 percent of the participants in the brain fog arm of the study. Of those, 63 had been diagnosed with forgetfulness.

Just One A Day

There you have it, drinking one diet drink per day can triple your risk of stroke or brain fog. Just one a day! But don’t think that means you can still reach for the sugary sodas.

It’s common knowledge that drinking sugary drinks is bad too. They’re believed to contribute not just to rising levels of obesity, but also other health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, dental cavities and cancer. Instead, just drink more water. Your brain will thank you.