People who drink diet sodas and other artificially sweetened drinks may be more likely to have a stroke, heart disease, or even die sooner — even if they’re not overweight or don’t smoke.

Drinking more sugary drinks like soda is linked to a higher chance of heart problems, partly because it makes you gain weight, but also because it directly messes with your blood sugar, insulin, fats in your blood, and blood pressure.

If you drink one more sugary drink each day, you’re 22% more likely to have a heart attack — so more sugary drinks might mean more heart problems.

If you swap out sugary drinks like soda for diet drinks with artificial sweeteners, studies suggest you might be less likely to get type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or die from heart problems or any cause — but only if the study makes sure people weren’t already sick when they switched drinks.

In people with prediabetes, drinking sugary sodas and juices explains about one-third of why eating unhealthy plant foods like white bread and candy raises heart disease risk.

Eating too many sugar-free sweeteners might be linked to health problems like weight gain, heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, bad pregnancy results, and seizures in sensitive people.