Sugary Drinks Bad for your Heart.

Sugary Drink

Medical science has for long tied sugary drinks to several health conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and stroke. Experts warn that men who drink one sugar-sweetened drink per day had a 20 per cent higher risk of heart disease than men who drink none, reports Sade Oguntola.

There is growing evidence that sugary beverages should be occasional treats rather than a regular part of our diets because they are bad for health. Sugary drinks have been associated with weight gain, type 2 diabetes and tooth decay. What is more, sugared beverages are harmful for the heart. This can lead to heart disease.

In a new study, researchers found that that those drinking about 6.5 sugared beverages a week were 20 per cent more likely to have a heart attack during the study’s nearly two decades than those who never consumed them. The results came from 22 years of follow up of the eating habits and heart disease rates among 42,883 men, aged between 40 and 75, who were enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. 

Continue Reading

Every few years from January 1986 to December 2008, the participants answered questionnaires about their diet and health habits. They also provided blood samples halfway through the study so the researchers could measure possible confounding effects, such as cholesterol and glucose levels, as well as factors that could explain how excess sugar contributes to heart disease, such as inflammatory protein markers.

The researchers stated in the American Heart Association Journal, Circulation, that men who sip more sugary beverages like soft drinks and fruit juices, have a higher risk of heart disease possibly due to increased levels of inflammation and harmful fats(lipids) in their blood, which are biomarkers for heart disease.

The increased risk of heart disease remained even after the scientists accounted for other risk factors that could affect heart disease rates such as age, smoking, physical activity, alcohol, family history and diet quality.

Unfortunately, when other factors such as self-reported high cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure, as well as diagnosed type 2 diabetes, were taking into consideration, this only slightly weakened the association between intake of sugary beverages and heart disease.

Ironically, the same effect was not seen among those who drank artificially sweetened drinks, which don’t contain sugar. In addition, men who drank sugar-sweetened beverages infrequently — only twice a week or twice a month — also did not experience an increased risk.

The finding of this study is consistent with a previous one in 2009 that focused on women, which found that women who drank more than two servings of sugary beverages daily had a nearly 40 per cent higher risk of heart disease than women who rarely drank sugary beverages. They also had higher levels of triglycerides and sugar in their blood.

Recent studies have tied drinking sugary beverages to more risk for diabetes, obesity, strokes, COPD, insomnia, bone loss and headaches.

These results, as well as those from other observational studies and trials, indeed support recommendations to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in order to prevent heart problems.

Nutritionist’s advice is generally to avoid sugary and caffeinated drinks, but such drinks are popular with most people and can be hard to give up, although it is possible to give them up for good.

Mr Tunde Ajobo, a dietician at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State stated that nothing should take the place of water in quenching thirst or when eating.

According to him, sweet beverages or sweetened carbonated drinks are only expected to be taken when there is need for an energy boost and not too often.

Mr Ajobo, who emphasised the need for intake of soft drinks or sweetened drinks in moderation even when necessary, said that people are better of with freshly made fruits’ juices, which are healthy choices.

According to him, fresh fruit juices aside supplying instance sugar to the blood stream also adds other things to the body such as vitamins, minerals and fibres.

“Unlike carbonated soft drinks and other sweetened drinks, which supply empty calorie, fruit juices will also supply vitamins and minerals which facilitate absorption of nutrients by the body, blood formation, strengthen the heart and bones as well as boost the body immunity.

“So when about taking any drink, its health benefits should be considered; its implications on health, whether it will support good health and so on.

Mr Ajobo, while stating the evidences indicated that sweet or carbonated soft drinks could be detrimental to health, declared that consumption of these drinks has long term implications for the body.

According to him, the long term implications of sweet drink or carbonated soft drink consumption included diabetes because of the toll blood sugar swing has on the pancreas overtime.

In addition, he pointed out the imbalance in blood sugar due to excessive consumption of sweet drinks over time can affect other organs of the body such as the brain and heart.

However, Dr Akinyemi Aje, a consultant cardiologist, UCH, Ibadan, stated that to single out sweet drinks as a risk factor for heart disease may be difficult for now.

Dr Aje, who reiterated the need for studies to confirm the finding particularly in African populations, however stated that consumption of anything in excess, including sweetened drinks, is not good for the body.

He declared: “take sweet drinks in moderation. The manifestations of taking too much of sugary things are in the future. Still, there is still the need to investigate if there are genetic predispositions from birth to development of heart problems in those who take excessive amounts of sweet beverages.

“It is just like the case of power drinks, which people have said caused seizures in one or two people and as such made some people stop taking the drink.”

The American Heart Association recommends limiting the daily amount of calories we consume in added sugars. Women should aim for no more than 100 calories per day, or about six teaspoons of sugar. For men, the recommendation is to top off at 150 calories per day, or about nine teaspoons.