What Am I Supposed to Drink?

Why would someone ask that question? It was in response to a health news report on a couple of studies that suggested that if you drink too much fruit juice, any soda at all, or five or more cups of coffee, you’ll have an increased risk of a first stroke. Let’s take a look at the studies to see if we should change any of our drinking habits.

Based on the methodology, cases of first stroke were recruited from 142 centers in 32 countries between March 2007 and July 2015; at the same time, they recruited matched controls who did not have a stroke. They ended up with 13,462 subjects with stroke and 13,488 controls that did not have strokes. The mean age was close to 62 +/- 13 years. Besides biometric data including neural imaging, the researchers used a variety of surveys including food frequency questionnaires to determine all fluid intake.

After accounting for 15 potential factors that might skew the data, researchers calculated the odds ratios for water, soda, fruit juice, coffee, and tea intake. Teas of all types reduced the odds ratio for stroke, as did drinking seven or more cups of water per day. Any soda, fruit juice, or five or more cups of coffee per day raised the odds ratio, almost doubling the risk of a first stroke.

Should we be concerned? Let’s take a closer look at what this study really means on Saturday.

What are you prepared to do today?