Fruit drinks lead to diabetes

Sweetened fruit drinks are often marketed as a healthier alternative to non-diet soft drinks but are just as likely to cause weight gain and increase the risk of diabetes, researchers said.

The public should be made aware that these drinks are not a healthy alternative to soft drinks with regard to risk of type 2 diabetes, Health News reported.

Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, is closely linked to obesity and has become more common worldwide.

The findings came from a look at nearly 44,000 black women in the United States who were checked from 1995 through 2005.

Those who said they drank two or more non-diet soft drinks a day had a 24 percent increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes than those in the study who drank fewer than one regular soft drink per month, the research team said.

Women who drank two or more sweetened fruit drinks per day had a 31 percent increased risk compared to those who drank less than one such fruit drink a month. Diet soft drinks, grapefruit juice and orange juice were not linked to a higher diabetes risk, the researchers said.

While pure orange and grapefruit juices also contain sugars naturally, they may have a different metabolic effect or may be more likely to be consumed as part of a meal, the investigators said.

Soft drinks and sweetened juices are often consumed between meals and may lead to snacking, they said.

An earlier study involving thousands of white women also linked diabetes to both soft drinks and sweetened juices, the report said.

Another study found that eating fruits and vegetables seems to ward off type 2 diabetes, perhaps by preventing obesity or providing protective nutrients, including antioxidants.