High Sugar Intake Linked To Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke, Study

[appalachiablue]

High sugar intake linked to elevated risk of heart disease and stroke, study finds, NBC News, Feb. 13, 2023. - Ed.

- New research suggests the more one's energy comes from sugar, the higher the risk of cardiovascular disease.

A study released Monday offers even more evidence of the harmful health effects of sugar. The research, published in the journal BMC Medicine, found that diets higher in free sugars — a category that includes sugar added to processed foods and sodas, as well as that found in fruit juice and syrups — raise one's risk of heart disease and stroke. The study relied on data about the eating habits of more than 110,000 people ages 37 to 73 in the United Kingdom, whose health outcomes were then tracked over about nine years.

The results suggested that each 5% increase in the share of a person's total energy intake that comes from free sugars was associated with a 6% higher risk of heart disease and a 10% higher risk of stroke. An author of the study, Cody Watling, a doctoral student at the University of Oxford, said the most common forms of sugar the study participants ate were "preserves and confectionary," with the latter category including cookies, sugary pastries and scones. Fruit juice, sugar-sweetened beverages and desserts were also common, he added.

Sugars that occur naturally in whole fruits and vegetables are not considered "free sugars" and were excluded from the analysis.

Watling and his team relied on data from the UK Biobank, a large-scale database of health records, which included multiple assessments of participants' diets. The researchers analyzed the assessments to estimate participants' carbohydrate intakes, then further broke that down by type of carbohydrate to focus on free sugars. Then the authors compared that to the participants' incidence of cardiovascular disease. The people found to have the highest risk of heart disease or stroke consumed about 95 grams of free sugar per day, or 18% of their daily energy intake, Watling said.

By comparison, U.S. guidelines suggest that added sugars should make up no more than 10% of one's daily calories.

"Avoiding sugar-sweetened beverages is probably the single most important thing we can be doing," said Walter Willett, a professor of epidemiology & nutrition at Harvard Univ. who was not involved in the study. Willett added that although there are some health benefits to drinking a small glass of orange juice occasionally, its sugar content means "a glass of fruit juice is the same thing as Coke.".."What's really important for overall general health & well-being is that we're consuming carbohydrates that are rich in whole grains," Warling said, while "minimizing the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, as well any kind of confectionary products that have added sugars."...

More, https://www.nbcnews.com/health/heart-health/high-sugar-intake-risk-heart-disease-stroke-study-rcna70406

[The Blue Flower]

1. Sugar feeds tumors

There's also been research to indicate that sugar encourages cancerous growth in tissues.

[FalloutShelter]

2. Yes... my friend's' oncologist said...

Sugar is CRACK for cancer.

[True Dough]

4. Pass this on to your friend

From the Mayo Clinic:

Myth: People who have cancer shouldn't eat sugar, since it can cause cancer to grow faster.
Fact: More research is needed to understand the relationship between sugar in the diet and cancer. All kinds of cells, including cancer cells, depend on blood sugar (glucose) for energy. But giving more sugar to cancer cells doesn't make them grow faster. Likewise, depriving cancer cells of sugar doesn't make them grow more slowly.

This misconception may be based in part on a misunderstanding of positron emission tomography (PET) scans, which use a small amount of radioactive tracer — typically a form of glucose. All tissues in your body absorb some of this tracer, but tissues that are using more energy — including cancer cells — absorb greater amounts. For this reason, some people have concluded that cancer cells grow faster on sugar. But this isn't true.

There is some evidence that consuming large amounts of sugar is associated with an increased risk of certain cancers, including esophageal cancer. Eating too much sugar can also lead to weight gain and increase the risk of obesity and diabetes, which may increase the risk of cancer.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cancer/in-depth/cancer-causes/art-20044714#:~:text=Myth%3A%20People%20who%20have%20cancer,sugar%20(glucose)%20for%20energy


^

So consuming too much sugar is bad for you in a variety of ways, but it doesn't fuel cancer in those who have it already.

[FalloutShelter]

6. Interesting.

I'll pass it on. Thanks.

[True Dough]

3. Stevia is still a safe alternative?

Some people say they dislike the after-taste. It doesn't bother me.

[pazzyanne]

7. Stevia is the only sugar substitute I use, 1/2 tsp stevia, no aftertaste.

I also drastically cut salt out of my life. I use lots of herbs and spices when I cook. You don't miss the salt.

[exboyfil]

5. First principle -Don't drink your calories

Never understood how orange juice got to be considered so healthy for you. Eating the actual oranges is far better for you.

I am extreme in the other direction with my Keto diet. Never felt better. My weight is down to where it was 20+ years ago. Still have a ways to go though.

[NickB79]

8. Did they control for weight?

Because people who consume a lot of sugar, especially liquids, are typically the same people who are obese, and obesity has long been recognized as a risk factor for heart disease.

[appalachiablue]

9. There's nada about weight although obesity can be linked to eating excess

sugar and other unhealthy foods. Consumption of sugar is the focus of the study and not the other well known risk factors for heart attack and stroke - high BP, high cholesterol, poor diet, obesity, physical inactivity, smoking.