By Uwa Ede-Osifo -
NBC News
A study published Monday offers even more evidence of the harmful effects of sugar on health.
The research, published in the journal BMC Medicine, concludes that diets rich in free sugars -a category that includes sugar added to processed foods and soft drinks, as well as that found in fruit juices and syrups- increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
The study was based on data on the dietary habits of more than 110,000 people aged 37 to 73 in the UK, whose health outcomes were followed for around nine years.
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The results suggested that every 5% increase in the proportion of a person's total energy intake coming from free sugars was associated with a 6% increased risk of heart disease and a 10% increased risk of stroke.
One of the study authors, Cody Watling, a doctoral student at Oxford University, said that the most common forms of sugar consumed by study participants were "preserves and sweets," with the latter category including cookies, sugary pastries and scones.
Fruit juices, sugary drinks and desserts were also common.
Sugars found naturally in whole fruits and vegetables are not considered “free sugars” and were excluded from the analysis.
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Watling and his team drew on data from the UK Biobank, a large-scale database of health records that included multiple assessments of participants' diets.
The researchers analyzed the assessments to estimate the participants' carbohydrate intake, and then broke it down by type of carbohydrate to focus on free sugars.
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The authors then compared these data with the incidence of cardiovascular disease in the participants.
According to Watling, people with the highest risk of heart disease or stroke consumed about 95 grams of free sugars per day, that is, 18% of their daily energy intake.
By comparison, US guidelines suggest that added sugars should not account for more than 10% of daily calories.
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"Avoiding sugary drinks is probably the most important thing we can do
," said Walter Willett, a Harvard University professor of epidemiology and nutrition who was not involved in the study.
Willett added that while drinking a small glass of orange juice now and then has some health benefits, its sugar content means that "a glass of fruit juice is the same as a Coke."
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Watling said the sugar intake guidelines are based on percentages of total energy because setting a limit in grams doesn't take into account variations in people's dietary needs.
“Let's say, for example, that we take someone who identifies as female and is petite: her energy needs for her body are much less than someone who is 6'2”, a very tall man.
They will have to consume more food,” says Watling.
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The Oxford researchers found a positive relationship when it came to fiber, unlike sugar consumption: Consuming 5 grams of fiber a day was associated with a 4% lower risk of heart disease, the study suggests, although this was not confirmed. held when the researchers controlled for the participants' body mass indices.
A large body of previous research has also found health benefits associated with fiber consumption, as well as risks associated with diets high in sugar.
The authors of the new study said their research builds on existing evidence by including sugars in honey, syrups and fruit juices in the analysis, rather than looking only at added sugars.
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They noted, however, that the relationship found between free sugars and stroke risk warrants further investigation.
However, according to Watling, the study shows that the types of carbohydrates people choose to eat may be more important than the total amount.
“What is really important for general health and well-being is to consume carbohydrates rich in whole grains,” he said, and to “minimize the consumption of sugary drinks, as well as any type of confectionery with added sugars.”
