ArcaMax

Americans are sweet on sweetened drinks like soda, fruit drinks, sports/energy drinks and sweetened coffee and teas. The daily consumption of those liquid "health bombs" ranges from 44.5% of adults in Alaska to 76.4% of adults in Hawaii, according to the American Heart Association. And that ups those folks' risk of everything from obesity to diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, some cancers, liver and kidney disease, and depression. But that's not all. According to a new study in JAMA Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery that looked at 30 years of data on more than 160,000 women, drinking one or more sugar-sweetened beverages a day boosts the risk of oral cavity cancers by -- wait for it -- 487%.

So, does this mean you should make a switch to beverages artificially sweetened with saccharin, aspartame or sucralose? Sorry, no. Studies show that they can cause gastrointestinal woes, change your perception of tastes, trigger metabolic changes that up the risk for diabetes, and damage heart health. The "fake" sugars can also stimulate your appetite and, ironically, contribute to weight gain and obesity.

Your best options are hot or cold filtered black coffee (including decaf), unsweetened teas (green, black and herbal), smoothies sweetened with fresh fruit, water with citrus juice, and tasty vegetable broth.

For more information on how (and why) to eliminate added sugars and syrups from your diet, and great recipes for healthy beverages check out the recipes for "The Grape Escape" and "Vitality Smoothie" in "The What to Eat When Cookbook" and sign up for a free newsletter at LongevityPlaybook.com.

Health pioneer Michael Roizen, M.D., is chief wellness officer emeritus at the Cleveland Clinic and author of four No. 1 New York Times bestsellers. Check out his latest, "The Great Age Reboot: Cracking the Longevity Code for a Younger Tomorrow," and find out more at www.longevityplaybook.com. Email your health and wellness questions to Dr. Mike at questions@longevityplaybook.com.

(c)2023 Michael Roizen, M.D.

Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

(c) 2025 Michael Roizen, M.D. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.