The Health Officials Warn That Even Two Sugary Drinks a Day Significantly

And while artificially sweetened drinks may be preferable to sugary drinks in the short-term, the Harvard University study warned their long-term health effects needed to be explored.

According to a recent study, researchers have found that consuming just two cans of sugar drinks every day can significantly increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease and stroke risk.

Sweeteners, like high-fructose corn syrup, produced from corn starch, are largely used in the U.S.as a more-affordable alternative to sucrose in foods and beverages.

Lead author, Dr Frank Hu said: “Our findings underscore the urgent need for public health strategies that reduce the consumption of these drinks”.

Unlike other forms of sugar, like glucose, which are joined by insulin as they move into cells for the body to use as fuel, fructose can go in alone. Low quantities of fructose are quickly metabolized by the liver, but when there is a sugar overload, the liver can not process it anymore, so it gets converted into fat.

A few of that fat is sent into the bloodstream, which is how people develop high triglyceride levels – a major risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease.

According to a new review paper published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, a compelling evidence that drinking too many sugar-sweetened beverages, which contain added sugars in the form of high fructose corn syrup or table sugar (sucrose), is not heart healthy.

The new research examined dozens of studies, and looked at how different types of sugar metabolises in the body.

Concern for increased obesity, and risk for chronic health conditions, is based on roughly half of the United States population consuming at least one sugar-sweetened beverage per day.

Dr. Hu hopes that changes to nutritional labeling, which are expected to clearly define the amount of added sugar in a product and the percent daily value for added sugar, will help to educate consumers and ultimately reduce the daily intake of these and other products packed with sugar.

The research follows official United Kingdom advice which says have no more than 30 grams, or seven teaspoons, of sugar a day.

‘Average United Kingdom sugar intake has remained in excess of the recommended daily allowance for over five years and sugar sweetened beverages are one of the top sources of added sugars in our diets, especially for children and young people. But what exactly is the effect of drinking energy drinks, soda, and coffee drinks on the regular? “Sugary drinks are linked to tens of thousands of deaths worldwide and eliminating them from the food supply would have a substantial impact in reducing hospital admissions within a very short space of time”.

For the study, Hu and colleagues analyzed the data from recent studies.