We’re told to keep “everything in moderation,” especially regarding our diet. That said, we all have our vices with our drinks, whether you prefer to indulge in a fancy cocktail or a decadent hot chocolate. But when it comes to matters of the heart, a new study says there is one beverage variety you should probably avoid.
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You may want to skip those sugary, fizzy drinks.
According to new research, which was published yesterday in Frontiers in Public Health, drinking sweetened beverages ups your risk of stroke, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation.
In fact, sugary sweet drinks were worse for study participants’ health than any other form of sugar.
“Liquid sugars, found in sweetened beverages, typically provide less satiety than solid forms—they make you feel less full—potentially leading to overconsumption,” corresponding author Suzanne Janzi, PhD candidate at Lund University in Sweden, said in a press release. “Context also matters—treats are often enjoyed in social settings or special occasions, while sweetened beverages might be consumed more regularly.”
Researchers looked at data from over 70,000 Swedes.
The study included 69,705 Swedish men and women, all taking questionnaire-based diet and lifestyle assessments between 1997 and 2009. The press release explains that the study specifically examined three different sugar categories: toppings like honey, treats like pastries, and sweetened beverages like fizzy drinks.
Researchers then monitored diet over time and followed participants up until they either died, were diagnosed with one of seven cardiovascular diseases, or reached the end of the follow-up period in 2019.
Within that timeframe, 23,739 participants were diagnosed with a cardiovascular disease, per the press release. Researchers were then able to evaluate how sugar intake affected the risk of developing these conditions.
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Different types of sugar have different effects on cardiovascular disease.
While sugary drinks were the worst offenders, researchers also found that eating too much added sugar, in general, upped the risk of stroke or aneurysm. In participants with a normal body mass index (BMI), increased sugar consumption also spiked the risk of heart failure.
On the other hand, a few treats here and there were actually associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
“The most striking finding from our study is the divergent relationship between different sources of added sugar and cardiovascular disease risk,” Janzi said in the press release. “This surprising contrast highlights the importance of considering not just the amount of sugar consumed, but its source and context.”
Interestingly enough, people who had the highest risks of negative health outcomes were those who ate the fewest amount of treats. According to researchers, there may be a few different reasons for this.
“This might reflect underlying dietary behaviors—individuals consuming very little sugar might have very restrictive diets or might be limiting sugar due to pre-existing health conditions,” Janzi said in the release. “While our observational study cannot establish causation, these findings suggest that extremely low sugar intake may not be necessary or beneficial for cardiovascular health.”
Take the results with a grain of salt. (Pun intended.)
Researchers also stated that more research is necessary and diet is “highly demographically and culturally specific.” The second point is particularly important, considering that the study population was exclusively Swedish.
In Swedish culture, breaks for coffee and pastries are “deeply embedded,” meaning the results may not “directly translate to other populations with different dietary cultures,” Janzi warned.