Sugar and Cardiovascular Disease
Say no to sugar…
The average American eats 152 pounds of sugar per year. That’s a little less than half a pound each day. Two hundred years ago Americans ate on average 2 pounds a YEAR! What’s going on?
In the last 60 years we are seeing a huge increase in metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, and non alcoholic fatty liver disease. U.S. dietary guidelines advice limiting fat and protein, however, more and more research is implicating refined sugar and refined carbohydrates to the se metabolic conditions.
Let’s look at a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in February 2014 that looked at potential risk factors for cardiovascular disease including total calories consumed, quality of diet, smoking, cholesterol, alcohol and obesity. What they found was that addd sugars were a a major culprit.
Drinking one 20 oz. soda a day day increased the risk of heart attack by 30%. Consuming 20% of calories from sugar (about 400 calories) doubled the risk. Most Americans (70%) consume 10% of their calories from sugar.
Because fat and protein have been implicated as bad guys, Americans have been shying away from their consumption in favor of carbohydrates and particularly sugars and refined grains. In addition to metabolic diseases, both of these foods are also implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, elevated cholesterol, particularly high LDL and low HDL and cardiovascular disease.i,ii, iii
To reduce the onslaught of chronic disease and the need for long term health care, proper diet and lifestyle are important factors in obtaining and maintaing good health throughout one’s life.
iBloomgarden, Z. World Congress on Insulin Resistance, Diabetes and Cardiovasular Disease. DIABETES CARE, VOLUME 34, JULY 2011
iiCraft, S. Insulin resistance syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease: Age-and obesity-related effects on memory, amyloid, and inflammation. Neurobiology of Aging 265 (2005) S65-S69- 17 August 2005
iiiKroner, Z. The Relationship between Alzheimer’s Disease and Diabetes: Type 3 Diabetes?. Alternative Medicine Review Volume 14, Number 4 2009
photo credit: Caro Wallis, A Spoonful of Sugar
Written by: Dr. Cheri King, ND
