While sodas and fizzy drinks have always earned a bad reputation for causing grave health conditions – including heart issues and strokes, even fruit juices are not behind. According to a new study, fruit juices increase your risk factor for having a stroke by 22 per cent.

The recent research, observed by experts from the University of Galway, McMaster University, Canada, and an international group of stroke experts, has revealed that if you are drinking fruit juices twice or thrice a day, the risk doubles up. According to scientists, juices are “nothing more than just sugar syrups with no nutritional value”. This can increase the chances of getting a stroke by 37 per cent and women are more likely to be at greater risk than men.

The study, published in the Journal of Stroke, also found that drinking more than four cups of coffee per day also increases the risk of stroke.

According to experts, a major health disadvantage of drinking juices is the lack of fibre – which helps in regulating digestion and takes care of your gut health. Juicing fruits releases sugar instantly, which triggers rapid spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels - promoting inflammation.

Sugar in high amounts overstimulates your nervous system, leading to stress in blood vessels – ultimately causing life-threatening issues like a stroke.

"Not all fruit drinks are created equal -- freshly squeezed fruit juices are most likely to bring benefits, but fruit drinks made from concentrates with lots of added sugars and preservatives may be harmful. Our research also shows that the chance of stroke increases the more often someone consumes fizzy drinks,” said lead researcher Professor Andrew Smyth, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Galway and Consultant Physician at Galway University Hospitals.

To mitigate this, doctors advise drinking more water – at least seven to eight glasses daily, as it helps you hydrate as well. "As a doctor and as someone who has researched the risk of stroke, we would encourage people to avoid or minimize their consumption of fizzy and fruit drinks and to consider switching to water instead," he added.

According to researchers, the study focused on people's consumption of fizzy drinks and fruit juice and found:

The link between fruit juices and high chances of stroke was greatest in Eastern/Central Europe and the Middle East, Africa, and South America. The research noted that many products marketed as fruit juice are made from concentrates and contain added sugars and preservatives, which may offset the benefits usually linked with fresh fruit and increase stroke risk.

Women show the greatest increased chance of stroke due to bleeding linked to fruit juice or drinks.

If you have a stroke, the blood supply to part of your brain gets cut off, damaging brain cells. Doctors say it can either be an ischemic stroke, which is usually due to a blood clot, or intracerebral hemorrhage – which leads to bleeding into the brain tissue.

Interstroke is also one of the largest international studies of risk factors for stroke, involving almost 27,000 people in 27 countries, including almost 13,500 people who experienced their first stroke.

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