All artificial sweeteners are supposedly regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But if that agency truly had public safety in mind, they would have banned most artificial sweeteners on the market. But it’s not only the FDA putting out incorrect information.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) has written, “The safety of artificial sweeteners has been studied for years and, used in moderation, they are perfectly safe . . . ” Furthermore, AND states, “Despite what you may have heard, artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharin, neotame, acesulfame-K, and sucralose don’t cause birth defects or cancer and they aren’t linked to behavior problems. Because they are hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, only tiny amounts are needed to equal the sweetening power of sugar.”

They couldn’t be more wrong.

In fact, a recent study found a direct link between diet soft drinks and an increased risk of heart disease and death.

According to an NBC News report, researchers found women who drank more than two diet soft drinks a day were 30 percent more likely to have a heart attack or other cardiovascular event, and 50 percent more likely to die compared to women who rarely ingested those drinks.