Could soda drinking lead to early death? Researchers say yes

You may want to put down that soda before you take your next sip.

Researchers have discovered that even two glasses of any soda, whether full sugared versions or the diet varieties, could increase the risk of dying early than people who drank less than a glass each month, CNN reported.

None of the more than 450,000 people in the study had cancer, diabetes, heart disease or stroke before the study started, according to CNN.

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The study, which was released this week in JAMA Internal Medicine followed 451,743 men and women in 10 countries in Europe from 1992 to 2000, The Washington Post reported.

The study found that if participants drank two or more artificially sweetened soft drinks a day, they had higher rates of death from circulatory disease. For regular soft drinks, one or more deaths were linked to digestive diseases that attack the liver, appendix, pancreas and intestines, the Post reported.

Drinking soft drinks also was linked to increased risk of Parkinson's disease, but not Alzheimer's or cancer, CNN reported.

Researchers, however, said that when there is increased soda intake, there's usually an overall unhealthy lifestyle, the Post reported.

This is just the latest study that links soft drink consumption to health risks.

The American Heart Associated said in February that drinking two or more artificially sweetened drinks a day can increase clot-based strokes, heart attacks and early death in women over 50, CNN reported.

In March, another study found drinking more than two servings a day increased the risk of premature death by 63% for women and 29% for men, CNN reported.

If you have decided to try to cut out the soft drinks from your diet, experts suggest first swapping out a normal soda with seltzer or sparkling water, then gradually cutting them out.

As for the sweet taste, try replacing it with fruits and do it for more than two weeks. It takes about two weeks for your taste buds to be replaced and you can train yourself not to crave the sweet tastes, CNN suggested.

Actively break the habit and replace the normal routines you go through when you grab a soda.

If you're worried about the caffeine headache that will inevitably happen when you cut out caffeinated soft drinks, experts say try herbal, black or green teas.

Replace sugary beverages with easily-accessible water, and add fruit, if you want to make it less bland, CNN reported.

Cox Media Group