The American Heart Association has a simple message.  Choose water over diet drinks.

A study published Thursday in Stroke, a journal of the AHA, reveals women age 50 and above who consume more than one artificially sweetened drink a day are significantly more likely to have a stroke, a heart attack and an early death.

According to USA Today, even women with no history of heart disease or diabetes are considerably more vulnerable to increased health risks if they drink multiple diet beverages a day.

Many well meaning people, especially those who are overweight or obese, drink low calorie sweetened drinks to cut calories in their diet.

According to the latest study, their research and other observational studies have shown that artificially sweetened beverages may not be harmless and high consumption is associated with a higher risk of stroke and heart disease.

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