High-Sugar Diets Linked to Heart Disease

How much sugar do you consume in a typical day? Current dietary guidelines recommend no more than 25 grams of added sugar for women and 38 grams for women. Unfortunately, though, most people consume far more. Statistics show that the average American consumes more than 80 grams of sugar every year. Being a source of empty calories, excess sugar consumption takes a toll on your health in multiple ways. In fact, a new study has linked the sweet stuff to an increased risk of heart disease, even in otherwise healthy individuals.

Researchers from the University of Surrey in the U.K. found that people who consume high-sugar diet for at least three months have an increased risk of heart disease when compared to their counterparts on a low- or moderate-sugar diet.

For the study, researchers analyzed several biomarkers of participants, body fat index, liver enzymers and metabolism. They found a strong correlation between high sugar consumption and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). It's no secret that alcohol is a key risk factor in the development of liver fat. People who consume significant amounts of alcohol tend to develop more fat in their liver. In turn, this can lead to a variety of other problems, as the liver is unable to filter toxins from the body. However, NAFLD is an umbrella term that refers to fatty liver disease caused by other factors, not alcohol.

So, just how common is NAFLD? Statistics show that up to 40% of the U.S. population suffers from NAFLD. While it's more common in people with type 2 diabetes and people who are obese, anyone can develop NAFLD at any given time in their life. Moreover, there's a strong link between NAFLD and heart disease, as experts believe NAFLD increases the risk of heart disease.

This recent study suggests that a high-sugar diet can lead to NAFLD, which subsequently increases the risk of heart disease.

"Our findings provide new evidence that consuming high amounts of sugar can alter your fat metabolism in ways that could increase your risk of cardiovascular disease," said Bruce Griffin, a professor of nutritional metabolism at the University of Surrey.

The good news is that you don't have to avoid all sources of sugar. There are two primary forms of the sweet stuff: processed sugar and natural sugar, the latter of which isn't that bad since it's absorbed more slowly into the digestive system. It's the processed, added sugar that you need to look out for. Consuming too much processed sugar increases the risk of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, liver disease and other serious health conditions.

This study was published in the journal Clinical Science.