Sayonara soda!

Those sugary sodas may be as bad as you suspected. A study published last week in JAMA Internal Medicine found that those who drank two or more glasses a day of sugar-sweetened soft drinks had a higher risk of dying from digestive disorders, while those who drank the same amount of diet drinks had higher risks of dying from cardiovascular disease. The study followed more than 450,000 people from 10 European countries for up to 19 years, and none of the people had cancer, diabetes, heart disease or stroke before their participation. The heart of the matter seems to be something called “leaky gut.” High blood sugar and high sugar intake impair your gut’s immune system, altering the healthy microbes that prevent infection and intestinal inflammation. Researchers’ advice: switch to healthier drinks—you know, like plain-old water.