A new study finds that people who want to stay heart healthy should avoid drinking artificially sweetened beverages like diet soda, Vanguard Newspaper reports.

“The belief that artificial sweeteners are a safe substitute for sugar is fake news,” Dr. Guy L. Mintz, director of cardiovascular health & lipidology of cardiology at Northwell Health’s Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital in New York, told Healthline.

According to a recent study by French researchers, people who regularly drink artificially sweetened beverages or regularly sweetened beverages have a higher risk of stroke and heart disease than those who avoid sugary drinks.

“This study demonstrates that high consumers of sugary drinks and artificially sweetened beverages both had a higher risk of a first cardiovascular event,” continued Mintz.

“This study is further proof that drinks with artificial sweeteners are unhealthy. Artificial sweeteners have been associated with weight gain, insulin resistance, and diabetes.”

The research, published this week in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, looked at data from over 100,000 participants in the NutriNet-Santé cohort, an ongoing, online study in France that has participants record their diet, activity level, and health status at 6-month intervals.