New York, Apr 20 (IANS): Are you diabetic? Avoid sugar-sweetened beverages like sodas, fruit punch, and lemonade to cut down the risk of premature death, according to a study.

The study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health showed that high consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages may also increase the incidence of mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD), among people with diabetes.

Every additional daily serving of a sugar-sweetened beverages was associated with an 8 per cent higher all-cause mortality.

However, drinking beverages like coffee, tea, low-fat cow's milk, and plain water was associated with lower risk of dying prematurely, revealed the study published online in The BMJ.

Replacing one daily serving of a sugar-sweetened beverages with one serving of coffee was associated with an 18 per cent lower risk of all-cause mortality and a 20 per cent lower risk of CVD mortality; tea with 16 per cent and 24 per cent lower risk; plain water with a 16 per cent and 20 per cent lower risk; and low-fat cow's milk with a 12 per cent and 19 per cent lower risk.

"Beverages are an important component of our diet, and the quality can vary hugely," said lead author Qi Sun, Associate Professor in the Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology.

"People living with diabetes may especially benefit from drinking healthy beverages - but data has been sparse. These findings help fill in that knowledge gap and may inform patients and their caregivers on diet and diabetes management," Sun added.

The researchers analysed an average of 18.5 years of health data from 9,252 women and 3,519 men all of whom had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at baseline or at some point during the study.

"People living with diabetes should be picky about how they keep themselves hydrated," said Sun. "Switching from sugar-sweetened beverages to healthier beverages will bring health benefits."