Sugary Beverages Can Harm Your Heart

Healthy Living 

Sugary Beverages Can Harm Your Heart

Posted on May 2012 by YML Staff

Turns out by limiting your sugary beverages you might just be helping your heart. A new study finds that men who consumed one sugar sweetened beverage per day had a 20% increased chance of heart disease compared to those who didn’t drink these beverages.

This research supplies strong evidence that the higher intake of sugar-sweetened drinks is a key risk factor in heart disease. Even moderate intake, as little as one drink a day, is not safe.

The finding is based on the examination of almost 43,000 men who were taking part in a long-running study. The team had carried out a similar study on women from the Nurses’ Health Study where there was also found to be a link between heart disease and the intake of sugar sweetened beverages. A similar finding in male subjects enhances the results from the first findings.

The team asked the male subjects, aged between 40 – 75, to supply details on their drinking habits. During the period from January 1986 to December 2008 the participants reported on what they ate and other lifestyle habits bi-annually. They also gave a blood sample at the midpoint of the study. During the 22 years 3683 heart attacks were reported.

The researchers then broke the participants into four groups based on how many sugary beverages they drank – zero sugar sweetened drinks, drinking sugary drinks two times a month, drinking these beverages 1 -3 times a week, drinking sugar sweetened drinks from 4 times per week to as many as nine times a day. Those falling into this intake level were considered daily drinkers, the group with a 20% greater chance of a heart attack compared to the non-drinkers.

The number held up even after taking into account other factors known to impact heart disease risk. Age, smoking status, amount of exercise, intake of alcohol, diet, weight and even family history.

When the team examined the blood samples, they saw that men who drank sugary drinks on a daily basis had greater indicators for heart disease compared to the non-drinkers. The daily drinkers had high triglycerides (blood fats) levels and lower levels of good (HDL) cholesterol. Both triglycerides and low HDL are risk factors for heart disease.

Why the link between sugary beverages and heart disease? No one can say for sure, but there are three things that could be contributing.

1. Increased body weight is an immediate after effect of consuming sugar-sweetened drinks.

2. Impact on blood fats – increasing triglycerides and decreasing good cholesterol.

3. Increasing inflammatory indicators associated with heart disease i.e. C-reactive protein. This and several other studies have seen this effect.

There was no link between artificially sweetened diet beverages and heart disease. This doesn’t mean the diet variety of your favorite beverage is a healthy alternative. These drinks have not as yet been widely studied.

Industry group the Sugar Association continues to argue that sugar isn’t solely to blame for heart disease, but rather overall lifestyle choices carry more weight than a single food or drink. Disputing the study, they point out that the high intake group covered a very wide range of intakes. They feel it is more sensible to look at fighting obesity, and reducing chance of heart disease, by focusing on the whole diet – reducing calories and getting more exercise.

The ABA (American Beverage Association) offered a statement on the study subjects, claiming they were nearly all caucasian and of European descent so that the findings may not be applicable to the whole population. Also, issues such as stress (a recognized risk of heart disease) were not accounted for by the researchers. They go on to point out that the study finds only an association between sugary beverages and heart disease, not cause and effect.

Some experts believe that if you love sugary beverages you don’t have to avoid them completely. Just limit your intake to a couple a week. Consider these drinks a treat and not a regular event.