Sweet Drinks And Heart Disease
If you’re over 45, regular consumption of sugary soft drinks, fruit drinks and fruit juices can increase your risk of dying of heart disease. Researchers from Emory University found that adults who tended to drink 24 ounces or more of sugary beverages daily had twice the risk of death from coronary heart disease compared to those of the same age who consumed less than one ounce of sweet drinks per day. In addition, there was an increased risk of death from all causes. These findings come from research involving 17,930 adults, none of whom had a history of heart disease, stroke or Type 2 diabetes. The researchers estimated sugary food and beverage consumption of the participants based on responses to food frequency questionnaires. They followed them for an average of 6 years and used death records to ascertain the cause of death. The team found no increased risk of death related to consuming sweet foods, including desserts, candy and sweetened breakfast foods as well as foods to which sweeteners such as sugars or syrups were added. The researchers said their study doesn’t prove cause and effect but identifies a trend resulting from consumption of sugary drinks. The findings were presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions in March 2018.
Source:
Jean Welsh et al, “Drinking sugary drinks may be associated with greater risk of death.” Research presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention | Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions 2018, New Orleans, LA, March 21,2018
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