Sugary drinks can be more harmful than we think. This is what a recent finding has concluded.
The new age sedentary lifestyle has taken health problems to alarming levels across the world. From diabetes, obesity, blood pressure to heart attack, these comorbidities are no longer purely age-related. In recent times, people as young as teenagers have been reported to survive heart attacks. While biology remains dynamic, it must be remembered that a healthy diet can be of great help. We often consume sugary drinks to quench our thirst or perhaps have something on the side. But these sweet drinks are said to be more harmful. A large-scale Swedish study suggested Monday that drinking sugary drinks can significantly increase the risk of serious cardiovascular diseases such as stroke, heart failure and atrial fibrillation.
The study also showed that eating too much added sugar can increase the risk of having a stroke or aneurysm. However, limited consumption of sweets may be safe. “Consumption of sweet drinks was worse for health than any other form of sugar,” said the study published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health as reported by IANS.
Why are sugary drinks harmful?
Suzanne Janzi, a PhD candidate at Lund University, said sweetened drinks, which contain liquid sugars, “typically provide less satiety than solid forms.” Janzi said this makes people feel less satiated, “potentially leading to overconsumption.”
Additionally, unlike candy that “is often enjoyed in social settings or special occasions, sweetened beverages can be consumed more regularly.”
To understand how sugar consumption affects the risk of cardiovascular disease, the team collected data from two large studies with a sample of 69,705 participants. The study assessed the link between honey, treats such as cakes or sweetened drinks such as soda and seven cardiovascular diseases: two different types of stroke, heart attacks, heart failure, aortic aneurysms, atrial fibrillation and aortic stenosis.
During the 10 years of follow-up, 25,739 participants were diagnosed with cardiovascular disease.
High sugar intake overall increased the risk of ischemic stroke and abdominal aortic aneurysm. It also increased the risk of heart failure in participants with a normal BMI. In particular, they found that the highest risks of a negative health outcome emerged in the lowest candy intake category, suggesting that “extremely low sugar intake may not be necessary or beneficial for cardiovascular health.”
However, Janzi said the study is “observational and cannot establish causality.”
(With IANS inputs)
