Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is linked to the consumption of sugar. A 2009 meta-analysis found a positive association between sugar-sweetened beverage intake
and coronary heart disease among women. A 2010 study found that there was a linear trend with increasing added sugar consumption and substantially lower levels
of cardio-protective HDL-C, higher triglycerides, but there was little influence on LDL-C. A 2014 meta-analysis of 37 randomized controlled trials considered
the effects of the modification of dietary added sugars on lipids. Higher compared with lower sugar intakes significantly raised triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL-C,
and HDL-C slightly.
A 2014 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Internal Medicine, found that between 2005 and 2010, most adults (71.4%) consumed 10% or
more of daily calories from added sugar. Comparing the risk of CVD mortality among those who consumed less than 10% of calories from added sugar to those
who consumed 10% to 25%, the study found a 30% increase in the risk of CVD mortality. Among the 10% of adults who consumed more than 25% of calories
from added sugar, the CVD risk was 2.75 times greater.
A recent study, published in 2019, evaluated associations between consumption of SSB with the risk of total and cause-specific mortality among 37,716 men
from the Health Professional’s Follow-up study (from 1986 to 2014) and 80,647 women from the Nurses’ Health study (from 1980 to 2014). The study found that
CVD mortality was 31% higher, and the total death rate was 28% higher among those who consumed two or more SSB a day compared to those who rarely drank
them.
Sugar-sweetened beverage intake may also increase the risk of some forms of arthritis. According to data from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Nurses’ Health
Study II, women who drank as little as one sugar-containing soft drink a day had a highly significant 71% increased risk of developing seropositive rheumatoid arthritis than those who drank none or less than one such drink a month.
This blog presents opinions and ideas and is intended to provide helpful general information. I am not engaged in rendering advice or services to the individual reader. The ideas, procedures and suggestions in that are presented are not in any way a substitute for the advice and care of the reader’s own physician or other medical professional based on the reader’s own individual conditions, symptoms or concerns. If the reader needs personal medical, health, dietary, exercise or other assistance or advice the reader should consult a physician and/or other qualified health professionals. The author specifically disclaims all responsibility for any injury, damage or loss that the reader may incur as a direct or indirect consequence of following any directions or suggestions given in the blog or participating in any programs described in this blog or in the book, The Building Blocks of Health––How to Optimize Your Health with a Lifestyle Checklist (available in print or downloaded at Amazon, Apple). Copyright 2021 by J. Joseph Speidel.
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