Free sugars, sometimes called added sugars, may seem like a harmless addition to your diet in the present, but they may actually raise your chance of developing cardiovascular disease, according to a recent research.
Free sugars are those that are added during food processing,. Sugars that occur naturally in dairy products and in fruits and vegetables that have not been processed are not included.
According to new research published online on Monday in the journal BMC Medicine, the quality, rather than the amount, of carbohydrates ingested may be the key factor in determining whether or not one develops cardiovascular disease. To investigate this, the authors of the newest study analyzed the nutrition and health records of over 110,000 individuals who took part in the UK Biobank cohort project, which gathered information from over 503,000 adults in the United Kingdom between 2006 and 2010.
Participants in the new research completed two to five 24-hour online nutritional evaluations, recording their food and drink consumption at numerous points during each 24-hour period. Total carbohydrate consumption was not related with cardiovascular disease after more than nine years of follow-up. Nevertheless, after looking at how outcomes varied based on the kinds and sources of carbohydrates consumed, they discovered that a higher consumption of free sugar was linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and a larger waist circumference.
Some individuals’ risk of cardiovascular illness, heart disease, and stroke increased in proportion to the amount of free sugars they ingested. As per the US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, all heart disorders are cardiovascular disease, while cardiovascular disease is the term for any diseases that impact the heart or blood vessels, including stroke, congenital heart problems, and peripheral artery disease (PDF).
Triglycerides are a kind of fat that individuals get through eating butter, oils, and other fats in addition to additional calories their bodies don’t need right now, and a larger consumption of free sugars was connected with higher concentrations of triglycerides. Triglyceride levels over 150 milligrams per deciliter are associated with an increased danger of developing cardiovascular disease.
Since the body processes free sugar differently than it does sugar from whole foods, a diet heavy in free sugar is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Consuming a lot of added sugar may raise blood pressure because it causes inflammation throughout the body and stresses out the heart and blood vessels. Overeating and consuming too many calories due to the high concentration of added sugars in many processed foods is a well-documented contributor to the development of obesity, which is in turn a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
To reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, the authors recommend switching from free sugars to the non-free sugars found in whole fruits and vegetables. This recommendation has been endorsed by nutritionists and cardiologists.
Carbohydrates from whole foods are more difficult to digest because the fiber they contain cannot be metabolized into simple sugars. As a result, eating whole, unprocessed grains does not result in the same blood sugar rises that eating simple sweets does. Increases in insulin production result from elevations in blood sugar, which may lead to a state of hyperglycemia and contribute to a variety of health issues.
To top it all off, the fiber in whole food carbs cleans up your digestive tract as it moves through. This is why it’s important to include some of these “good carbohydrates” in our daily meals for optimal health. The Food and Drug Administration recommends consuming 25 grams of fiber daily.
