Read Online The Sugar Smart Diet: Stop Cravings and Lose Weight While Still Enjoying the Sweets You Love by Anne Alexander, Julia VanTine - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Anne Alexander, Julia VanTine
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total caloric intake.
While the findings don’t prove that sugar causes type 2 diabetes, they do support the ever-expanding body of research—in test tubes, animals, and humans—that suggests sugar affects the liver and pancreas in ways that othertypes of foods don’t. Another study, published in
Global Public Health
, found that as a nation’s fructose intake rises, so do levels of type 2 diabetes. Again, the study didn’t prove a direct cause-and-effect link, but did conclude that the prevalence of type 2 is about 20 percent higher in countries where use of HFCS is high, compared to nations where consumption is lower.
----
We’re Sweeter—and Sicker
In the past 30 years, as our sugar consumption skyrocketed, so did rates of obesity, diabetes, lipid problems, high blood pressure, and heart disease—collectively termed metabolic syndrome. Research is starting to show that that’s not a coincidence. Here are the numbers, then and now.
Overweight/obesity. In 1980, obesity rates—which had held steady in the 20 years prior—rose significantly. Until 1980, just 15 percent of American adults had a BMI above the 85th percentile, suggesting either overweight or obesity. Now, it’s 55 percent.
Type 2 diabetes. From 1990 through 2010, the annual number of new cases of diagnosed type 2 diabetes almost tripled.
Metabolic syndrome. In 1990, an estimated 50 million US adults had metabolic syndrome. In 2000, that figure rose to 64 million, a 28 percent jump. A 2010 study revised that figure upward yet again—to 68 million, a further increase of 6 percent.
Heart disease. While death from cardiovascular disease fell nearly 33 percent from 1999 to 2009, it still accounted for nearly one in three deaths. And projected increases in obesity and type 2 diabetes, among other factors, may slow that positive change in heart health to only 6 percent.
----
SUGAR BELLIES AND SWEETHEARTS
Heart disease is still the number one killer of Americans. Being overweight or having type 2 diabetes raises the risk. Given that previous research links a diet high in sugary soft drinks with obesity and type 2 diabetes, might consuming a steady stream of liquid sugar increase heart disease risk as well?
Yes. In a 2009 study published in the
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
, Harvard researchers followed the health and habits of 88,520 women enrolled in the famed Nurses’ Health Study for 24 years. Compared to womenwho rarely drank sugary beverages, those who drank more than two a day had a 40 percent higher risk of heart attacks or death from heart disease, the study found.
Maybe you think a daily Big Gulp doesn’t matter if you’re at a healthy weight or eat a basically healthy diet. Nope. While eating well and maintaining a healthy weight are both important, neither did much to reduce the heart disease risk associated with sugary beverage consumption, the study found.
Other studies suggest that a high-sugar diet does nasty things to your blood vessels, too. For example, high insulin levels cause the smooth muscle cells around each blood vessel to grow faster than normal. This growth tightens artery walls, promoting high blood pressure and thereby raising the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Added sugars in processed foods may also increase cholesterol. A study in the
Journal of the American Medical Association
analyzed 7 years of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, administered annually by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data tracks such things as diet, body mass index, cholesterol level, and blood pressure, as well as behaviors like smoking, exercise, and alcohol consumption.
After excluding people with diabetes and high cholesterol, and those who were excessively overweight, the researchers found that adults consumed an average of 21.4 teaspoons of added sugar a day. Alarmingly, as the number of added-sugar calories increased, the levels of HDL cholesterol went down, and LDL
While the findings don’t prove that sugar causes type 2 diabetes, they do support the ever-expanding body of research—in test tubes, animals, and humans—that suggests sugar affects the liver and pancreas in ways that othertypes of foods don’t. Another study, published in
Global Public Health
, found that as a nation’s fructose intake rises, so do levels of type 2 diabetes. Again, the study didn’t prove a direct cause-and-effect link, but did conclude that the prevalence of type 2 is about 20 percent higher in countries where use of HFCS is high, compared to nations where consumption is lower.
----
We’re Sweeter—and Sicker
In the past 30 years, as our sugar consumption skyrocketed, so did rates of obesity, diabetes, lipid problems, high blood pressure, and heart disease—collectively termed metabolic syndrome. Research is starting to show that that’s not a coincidence. Here are the numbers, then and now.
Overweight/obesity. In 1980, obesity rates—which had held steady in the 20 years prior—rose significantly. Until 1980, just 15 percent of American adults had a BMI above the 85th percentile, suggesting either overweight or obesity. Now, it’s 55 percent.
Type 2 diabetes. From 1990 through 2010, the annual number of new cases of diagnosed type 2 diabetes almost tripled.
Metabolic syndrome. In 1990, an estimated 50 million US adults had metabolic syndrome. In 2000, that figure rose to 64 million, a 28 percent jump. A 2010 study revised that figure upward yet again—to 68 million, a further increase of 6 percent.
Heart disease. While death from cardiovascular disease fell nearly 33 percent from 1999 to 2009, it still accounted for nearly one in three deaths. And projected increases in obesity and type 2 diabetes, among other factors, may slow that positive change in heart health to only 6 percent.
----
SUGAR BELLIES AND SWEETHEARTS
Heart disease is still the number one killer of Americans. Being overweight or having type 2 diabetes raises the risk. Given that previous research links a diet high in sugary soft drinks with obesity and type 2 diabetes, might consuming a steady stream of liquid sugar increase heart disease risk as well?
Yes. In a 2009 study published in the
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
, Harvard researchers followed the health and habits of 88,520 women enrolled in the famed Nurses’ Health Study for 24 years. Compared to womenwho rarely drank sugary beverages, those who drank more than two a day had a 40 percent higher risk of heart attacks or death from heart disease, the study found.
Maybe you think a daily Big Gulp doesn’t matter if you’re at a healthy weight or eat a basically healthy diet. Nope. While eating well and maintaining a healthy weight are both important, neither did much to reduce the heart disease risk associated with sugary beverage consumption, the study found.
Other studies suggest that a high-sugar diet does nasty things to your blood vessels, too. For example, high insulin levels cause the smooth muscle cells around each blood vessel to grow faster than normal. This growth tightens artery walls, promoting high blood pressure and thereby raising the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Added sugars in processed foods may also increase cholesterol. A study in the
Journal of the American Medical Association
analyzed 7 years of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, administered annually by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data tracks such things as diet, body mass index, cholesterol level, and blood pressure, as well as behaviors like smoking, exercise, and alcohol consumption.
After excluding people with diabetes and high cholesterol, and those who were excessively overweight, the researchers found that adults consumed an average of 21.4 teaspoons of added sugar a day. Alarmingly, as the number of added-sugar calories increased, the levels of HDL cholesterol went down, and LDL
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