Even one serving daily of a sugary soft drink is associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease.
That’s according to a new study published [May 13] in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
In the study, researchers cataloged answers from about 106,000 women who filled out a food questionnaire. The survey included questions about how often they drank sweetened beverages, including sodas, sports drinks and sweetened bottled waters.
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The researchers concluded that drinking one or more sugary beverages each day was associated with a nearly 20% greater likelihood of having a cardiovascular disease, when compared with women who either didn’t drink or rarely drank sugary beverages.
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“We hypothesize that sugar may increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases in several ways,” said lead author Cheryl Anderson, a professor of family and public health at University of California San Diego.
“It raises glucose levels and insulin concentrations in the blood, which may increase appetite and lead to obesity, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.”
She noted that excessive sugar is associated with inflammation, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
These conditions are linked to the development of atherosclerosis, which is the narrowing of arteries that forms the basis for most cardiovascular disease.
