Taylor Swift says she drinks vodka and Diet Coke. But then again, she's the brand's highly paid spokeswoman. And Beyonce made $50 million flacking for Pepsi.
I guess we shouldn't be surprised. A 2016 study published in the journal Pediatrics found that among 65 celebrities tied to brands of food and beverages, 81% of the products they endorsed are “nutrient poor” junk foods and drinks.
Let's hope these health-busting beverages don't kill their careers, though according to a new study in JAMA Internal Medicine, drinking soda — either sugary or diet — is a life-shortening proposition.
Researchers followed more than 450,000 men and women in Europe for around 16 years and found that those who had two or more glasses of these lousy beverages daily were at a higher risk of premature death overall.
Specifically, drinking one glass or more a day of sweetened soda raises the risk of death from digestive disease. And drinking two glasses or more a day of diet soda ups the risk of death from circulatory disease.
In 2011-2014, 63% of young people and 49% of adults drank a sugar-sweetened beverage on any given day. If that's you or those you love, it's time to tell soda, “I Forgot That You Existed.”
Let's hope Taylor does too; after all, that's her song title.
The best choices to replace soda: water, black coffee (skip sugary and high-fat lattes), and tea.