Connection Between Sugar and Chronic Disease

A recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Internal Medicine4 examined the associations between added sugar consumption and cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths. The study did not include naturally occurring sugars in the diet, focusing only on added sugars. The study, which thankfully has met with robust media coverage,5, 6, 7, 8 found that:

• Among American adults, mean percentage of daily calories from added sugar increased from 15.7 percent in 1988-1994 to 16.8 percent in 1999-2004
• Mean percentage of daily calories from added sugar decreased to 14.9 percent in 2005-2010
• Most adults (just over 71 percent) get 10 percent or more of their daily calories from added sugar
• Approximately 10 percent of American adults got 25 percent or more of their daily calories from added sugar in 2005-2010
• The most common sources of added sugar are sugar-sweetened beverages, grain-based desserts, fruit drinks, dairy desserts, and candy

Americans get, on average, about 350 calories a day (equivalent to about 22 teaspoons of sugar and 25 percent of their daily calories) from added sugar in the diet. According to this study, those who consume 21 percent or more of their daily calories in the form of sugar are TWICE as likely to die from heart disease compared to those who get seven percent or less or their daily calories from added sugar.

The risk was nearly TRIPLED among those who consumed 25 percent of their daily calories from added sugar. At present, about 600,000 Americans die of heart disease each year,9 and it's the leading cause of death among both sexes. Not surprisingly, the authors concluded that:

"Most US adults consume more added sugar than is recommended for a healthy diet. 
We observed a significant relationship between added sugar consumption and increased risk for CVD mortality."

Mark Harris, PhD
Exercise Physiologist/Nutritionist
TexasMetabolics@gmail.com
Texas Metabolics