Sugar-Sweetened Beverages
Here is a great article that Dr. Karen McCloy discovered in regards to how too much liquid sugar (fizzy drinks etc) can lead to serious diseases…Not just poor dental health.
SOURCE: http://www.sugarscience.org/sugar-sweetened-beverages/#.VX-8QUZ34sQ
Over time, too much liquid sugar can lead to serious diseases
Liquid sugar, such as in sodas, energy drinks and sports drinks, is the leading single source of added sugar in the American diet, representing 36% of the added sugar we consume. And there’s growing scientific evidence that it’s the most dangerous way to consume added sugar.
In fact, drinking just one 12-oz can of soda per day can increase your risk of dying from heart disease by nearly one-third. Other studies show that people who drink one to two sugar-sweetened beverages per day have a 26 percent higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, compared to people who drink less than one per month.
What makes sweet drinks different?
Liquid sugar is the single largest source of added sugar in the American diet.
Research suggests that our bodies process liquid sugar differently than sugar in foods, especially those containing fiber.
When we eat an apple, for example, we may be getting as many as 18 grams of sugar, but the sugar is “packaged” with about one-fifth of our daily requirement of fiber. Because it takes our bodies a long time to digest that fiber, the apple’s sugar is slowly released into our blood stream, giving us a sustained source of energy.
But when we drink the same amount of sugar in sugary drinks, it doesn’t include that fiber. As a result, the journey from liquid sugar to blood sugar happens quickly, delivering more sugar to the body’s vital organs than they can handle. Over time, that can overload the pancreas and liver, leading to serious diseases like diabetes, heart disease and liver disease.
When we drink sugary drinks, our bodies respond to that blast of sugar by producing triglycerides. Some of those fat globules will be stored in the liver; others will be exported into the bloodstream and, once there, may end up lining our arteries, putting us at risk for a heart attack.
It’s easy to consume too much
Americans consume 3-6 times more added sugar than the maximum recommended by nutritional experts.
Studies also show that when we drink high-calorie beverages, we don’t feel as full as we would if we had eaten the same number of calories.
So it’s easy to down 9 teaspoons (38 grams) of sugar in a single soda – about twice as many as in an apple – and hardly notice.
For more information: http://www.sugarscience.org/sugar-sweetened-beverages/#.VX-8QUZ34sQ
