Added Sugar and Heart Health

The Journal of the American Medical Association recently released a report detailing the results of a study conducted among 6,113 adults who were part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2006. This finding explains that added sugars add to unhealthy blood fats. Medical experts agree that excess sugar contributes to obesity, diabetes, and other conditions linked to heart disease.

Added sugar refers to the caloric sweetener found in processed food. This may include some cereals and juice. Sugar-sweetened beverages and sweet treats are also a risk to heart health. Researchers report that 15 percent of American caloric intake is from added sugars. The findings of this latest research now link it to unhealthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Americans who eat foods containing higher levels of sugar had the lowest HDL, or good cholesterol, and the highest blood triglyceride levels.

The study recommends reading nutrition labels to verify the amount of added sugar in a product before consumption. Dr. Miriam Vos concludes, “We think that by changing how much sugar someone eats, they may be able to actually improve those blood lipid levels and improve their cardiovascular disease risk.”