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We’ve been told for many years now that too much sugar can lead to diabetes but studies now suggest consuming too much of the sweet white stuff can also lead to fatal heart problems. The most troubling find is that it doesn’t take all that much extra sugar to increase the risk. The majority of processed foods and beverages contain hidden sugar that cause people to consume levels that are far from safe.
Are You Paying attention to What You Eat?
If you’re like a lot of Americans you eat a diet that is anything but healthy. You may stop into your favorite coffee shop to pick up your breakfast which includes a cinnamon roll and a mocha latte. For lunch you may drink a soda with your sandwich and dinner is normally followed by some delicious sugary treat like ice cream or pie. If this sounds about right, you are at risk for developing coronary problems that could even be fatal.
The biggest culprits in our diets are sodas and other sweet drinks that add large amounts of sugar. People who normally consume 2,000 calories per day put themselves at risk by drinking just two 12-ounce cans of non-diet soda.
Lead author Quanhe Yang of the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention called the results of the latest study “sobering” and said “it’s the first nationally representative study to examine the issue.”
How Does Sugar Effect the Heart?
Although more studies will have to be conducted to uncover the exact mechanism behind sugar’s negative affect on the heart, what is clear is that too much sugar in our diets increases blood pressure as well as levels of unhealthy cholesterol and triglycerides. Sugar may also be responsible for increasing inflammation that has already been linked to heart disease, says Rachel Johnson, head of the American Heart Association’s nutrition committee and a University of Vermont nutrition professor.
The Study
Yang and his colleagues analyzed numerous national health studies that were conducted between 1988 and 2010 that included questions regarding participants’ diets. They also took a look at national death data to calculate risks of dying during their 15 years of follow-up. Overall, more than 30,000 American adults with a median age of 44 were studied.
Though previous studies have linked diets high in sugar with other non-fatal heart problems such as obesity, this new study found that obesity didn’t really explain the connection between sugary diets and death. Even people of normal weight who consumed too much sugar were at equal risk of dying from heart trouble.
“Too much sugar does not just make us fat; it can also make us sick,” said Laura Schmidt, a health policy specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study in Monday’s JAMA Internal Medicine.
For this study the researchers focused on sugar added to processed foods or drinks. Unless you are someone who reads labels, you most likely aren’t even aware that foods that aren’t very sweet may contain a lot of added sugar like many brands of packaged bread, tomato sauce and salad dressing.
How Much is Too Much?
The tricky part is figuring out how much is too much sugar. Though almost all health experts agree that too much isn’t healthy, there is no majority consensus on what exactly is too much. Current dietary guidelines suggest that “empty” calories including those from added sugars should make up no more than 15% of our total daily calorie intake.
But what researchers found was that most adults exceeded this “safe” limit and added sugar in the typical diet of participants accounted for at least 25% of daily calories. Looking at the death data for almost 12,000 adults, they found that as the sugar intake increased, health risks climbed significantly.
Specifically, adults who got at least 25% of their calories from added sugar were almost three times more likely to die of heart problems than those who consumed the least – less than 10%.
To put it into a different light: Those who got more than 15% – or the equivalent of about two cans of sugary soda out of 2,000 calories daily – were at a 20% higher risk than those at the safe level.
Sugar calories add up extremely quickly and unless you’re really paying attention, you are no doubt consuming far too many calories and putting yourself at risk. Consider this: one teaspoon of sugar has about 16 calories; one 12-ounce can of non-diet soda contains has about 9 teaspoons of sugar or about 140 calories. That cinnamon roll you have every morning most likely contains about 13 teaspoons of sugar, and one scoop of chocolate ice cream has about 5 teaspoons of sugar.
Dr. Jonathan Purnell, a professor at Oregon Health & Science University’s Knight Cardiovascular Institute, said while the research doesn’t prove “sugar can cause you to die of a heart attack”, it adds to a growing body of circumstantial evidence suggesting that limiting sugar intake can lead to healthier, longer lives.
How to Eat Dessert Without Sacrificing Your Health
What if you could relax with a piece of New York cheesecake topped with raspberry sauce, or satisfy your cravings with a warm slice of cinnamon apple crisp, or enjoy chocolate rum balls and rich chocolate brownies without a care as to how it might affect your waistline or your health?
And what if these desserts were not only irresistibly delicious, but good for you too?
On the very next page you’ll learn about “metabolic power ingredients” that can help to keep your blood sugar stable, promote the feeling of fullness, and even stoke your body’s fat-burning furnace!
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