Consuming too much sugar does not only increase risk for diabetes, it also increases one's risk of death of various type of heart conditions, a recent study finds.
Researchers involved in the study claim that people whose sugar intake is about a quarter or more of their daily total calories had twice as much risk of dying from heart disease compared to those whose intake was seven percent. Those who sugar intake was about 19 percent increased their risk of dying from heart disease by about 38 percent more. Results of the study was published in the JAMA Internal Medicine.
"Too much sugar can make you fat; it can also make you sick, sick from diseases like cardiovascular disease, which is the number one killer in America," said Laura Schmidt, a school of medicine professor at the University of California. "Small amounts of sugar are fine. It's consuming massive amounts of sugar that's a growing problem in America." The researchers also found that regular consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks - at approximately seven servings or more each week - was associated with an increase risk of dying from heart disease.
The Institute of Medicine recommends sugar be less than 25 percent of a person's total caloric intake. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends less than ten percent and the American Health Organization suggests an intake amounting to less than 150 calories a day for men and less than 100 calories a day for women.
