HEALTH TIPS
According to a recent study published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers have found that consuming just two cans of sugar drinks every day can significantly increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease and stroke risk. Urgent action has been called for by researchers who carried out this study for reducing the consumption of table sugar or fructose corn syrup and sucrose.
Frank Hu, a professor from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said that fructose is rarely consumed in isolation. The fructose carrying sugars contained in our diet like in sweetened beverages and corn syrup that have high fructose content constitute the major source of fructose.
‘Our findings underscore the urgent need for public health strategies that reduce the consumption of these drinks.’ Data obtained from recent epidemiological studies and their meta-analysis revealed that consumption of just one or two servings of sugary drinks every day has been linked to a 26% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and a 35% higher risk of heart attack or even a fatal heart disease apart from 16% enhanced stroke risk.
In the U.S. sweeteners like fructose corn syrup has been widely used as less expensive option to sucrose, in a variety of beverages and foods.
Although, in the past decade, consumption of sugary beverages has come down moderately, they continue to be the singular source of the highest intake of added sugar in US diet. These drinks are consumed by about half of the U.S. population every single day. One out of four of them add some 200 calories a day and 5% from that population consumes in excess of 500 calories a day which equals to about 4 cans of soda. This has been of particular concern since research has shown that consumption of sweetened beverages every day is linked to obesity and additional weight gain as published in various studies.
Professor Hu adds that consuming sweetened beverages can contribute to weight gain since the liquid calories do not provide a filling effect and therefore people do not adjust the food intake during subsequent meals.
Researchers further explored how fructose gets metabolized in the human body and how it links to weight gain and triggers metabolic as well as cardiovascular conditions. Prof. Hu added that the problem in part was the manner in which fructose behaved in the body.
Glucose which is another component in sugar gets readily absorbed into the blood vessels from the gastrointestinal tract. Glucose is transported by the blood vessels to the body cells aided by insulin and cells finally use the glucose as fuel.
On the other hand, fructose gets metabolized inside the liver and gets transformed to fatty compounds known as triglycerides.
“Although reducing the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages or added sugar alone is unlikely to solve the obesity epidemic entirely, limiting intake is one simple change that will have a measurable impact on weight control and prevention of cardio-metabolic diseases,” Hu and his team conclude.
Source: EurekAlert
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