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Study Suggests Link Between Diet Soda and Dementia

New research shows that people who drink at least one diet soda a day may be 2.9 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. CBS News noted that the study’s authors were cautious in declaring diet drinks totally culpable, and included comments from a doctor who warned that sugary drinks could be harmful too. Another doctor encouraged people to drink water, low-fat milk and other unsweetened beverages.

I’ve warned against artificially-sweetened drinks and foods many, many times. Even though some major health care officials and agencies are fighting it tooth-and-nail, evidence continues to grow that artificial sweeteners like aspartame are linked to a cascade of side effects. One huge danger is that they are associated with greater glucose intolerance in people with obesity, and appear to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes by 67 percent and metabolic syndrome by 36 percent.

From cancer-causing agents to components that may cause depression and even non-stop, sweet-taste cravings, the list of reasons why you shouldn’t drink artificially beverages is nauseatingly long. But what surprises me is that highly educated medical professionals — such as the American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association and American Cancer Society — are still recommending low-fat milk as an alternative to soda, diet or regular, especially when low-fat milk isn’t good for you either.

It’s just not scientifically supported, and if you’re choosing low-fat over full-fat, not only are you missing out on taste, flavor and satisfaction, but you’re missing out on valuable benefits to your health — benefits that come from eating full-fat foods. For example, people who eat full-fat dairy may have a lower risk of heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes and obesity than those who consume low-fat dairy.

Not only that, contrary to what you may have been taught, a high-fat diet helps you burn fat for fuel. Besides whole, organic, raw milk, sources of healthy fats include: grass fed meats, butter made from raw grass fed organic milk, cacao butter, animal-based omega-3 at such as krill oil, raw nuts such as macadamia and pecans, olives and olive oil, coconut and coconut oil, lard and tallow, and organic, pastured egg yolks.