By now, you may have heard that diet beverages are bad for you. But you may not realize how bad.

Artificially sweetened sodas were developed in the 1960s as a way to lose weight. But several years ago, studies began showing that people who drank diet drinks didn’t lose weight. In fact, research eventually began to demonstrate that those who drank diet drinks actually ended up fatter than those who didn’t.

And the evidence against diet soda has continued to mount, with a study published in the journal Stroke honing in on stroke risk. Researchers looked at more than 81,000 women in the large, population-based Women’s Health Initiative, and found that those who drank more diet drinks had a higher risk of stroke and heart disease, as well as a higher risk of dying early from any cause.

After a follow-up of nearly 12 years, the researchers discovered that those who drank two or more artificially sweetened drinks per day (either soda or juice) had a 23 percent higher risk of having any type of stroke, and a 31 percent higher risk of clotting in brain blood vessels, compared to women who drank one or fewer such beverages a week.

Of particular concern was the fact that most of these strokes occurred in the smaller blood vessels of the brain, a factor that has been linked to higher risk for dementia.

So don’t fall for the ad campaigns. Stay away from both sugary and artificially flavored drinks. Pour yourself a cool glass of water and infuse it with lemon, lime, or cucumber for a refreshing drink.