Sugary drinks may reduce stress levels, study suggests

Sugar-sweetened beverages like soda or juice can reduce stress responses in the brain while diet aspartame-sweetened drinks do not, a study from The University of California suggests.

Although stress relief can benefit individuals, this effect may lead to over-consumption of sugary drinks, which is linked to obesity, study authors cautioned.

"The concern is psychological or emotional stress could trigger the habitual overconsumption of sugar and amplify sugar's detrimental health effects, including obesity,” study author Kevin D. Laugero, an associate adjunct nutrition professor at the University of California, Davis, and a Western Human Nutrition Research Center scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural (USDA) Research Service, said in a news release.

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