By American Heart Association News
There's no sugarcoating it: Having too many sweet drinks may be
linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease in middle-aged and
older adults, according to new research.
Drinking 12 ounces of
sugary beverages more than once a day may lower "good" cholesterol and
increase triglycerides, fat in the blood that can lead to heart disease.
"Reducing
the number of or eliminating sugary drink consumption may be one
strategy that could help people keep their triglyceride and good
cholesterol at healthier levels," lead study author Nicola McKeown said
in a news release. McKeown is a nutrition epidemiologist at the Jean
Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University
in Boston.
Previous studies have shown added sugars increase
heart disease risk. Beverages such as sodas, sports drinks and
fruit-flavored drinks are the largest source of added sugar for
Americans.
Researchers aimed to find out why and how these added
sugars lead to heart disease. They hypothesized it could be a result of
an unhealthy imbalance of cholesterol and triglyceride levels, a
condition known as dyslipidemia that affects an estimated 40% to 50% of
U.S. adults.
The observational study – published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association
– examined medical data of nearly 6,000 people who were followed for an
average of 12.5 years. Participants were classified into five groups
according to how often they drank the different beverages, ranging from
less than one serving per month to more than one serving per day.
The
beverages were defined as: 12 ounces of sugary drinks, such as sodas,
fruit-flavored drinks, sports drinks, and presweetened coffees and teas;
12 ounces of low-calorie sweetened beverages, including naturally and
artificially sweetened "diet" sodas or other flavored drinks; or 8
ounces of 100% fruit juices, including orange, apple, grapefruit and
other juices derived from whole fruits, with no added sugars.
Researchers
found drinking more than 12 ounces per day of sugary beverages was
associated with a 53% higher incidence of high triglycerides and a 98%
higher incidence of low "good" cholesterol compared to those who drank
less than 12 ounces per month.
Regularly drinking low-calorie
sweetened beverages was not associated with increased dyslipidemia risk,
nor was 100% fruit juice. However, researchers said more study is
needed to back this finding.
"While our study didn't find
negative consequences on blood lipids from drinking low-calorie
sweetened drinks, there may be health consequences of consuming these
beverages on other risk factors," McKeown said. "Water remains the
preferred and healthiest beverage."
