Sugary drinks linked to higher stroke risk

Not a huge surprise here - those sugar-laden drinks are associated with higher stroke risk around the world. This one involved research in Japan on women health and found that sugary drinks linked to higher stroke risk:

Women who imbibe sugary soft drinks almost every day are 83 percent more likely to have a certain type of stroke than women who rarely drink sodas and other sweetened beverages, according to a new study from Japan.

Although the findings don't prove that sweet drinks are to blame for the higher stroke risk, other studies have shown links between high sugar intake and clogged arteries, said Dr. Adam Bernstein, a researcher at the Cleveland Clinic, who was not involved in the study.

And "as the authors here saw, most of the (increased) risk was with ischemic stroke, the kind of stroke with plaque buildup" in the arteries, Bernstein said.

(Photo from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration)