A new report by an industry analyst says global sugar consumption will reach 176 million tons by 2015. That's about 20 percent more than the estimated sugar consumption for 2010. Given the link between sugar and heart disease, the increase is significant.
Studies show that global sugar consumption has risen dramatically from 11 million tons in 1900 to about 145 million tons today.
Analysts attribute the growth to population increases and greater wealth.
What used to be a rare food additive is now a staple. High fructose corn syrup and other forms of sugar are routinely added to processed food and many beverages.
The study included all added sugar, even the sugar people add to their coffee.
While this may be good for the sugar industry, it is not good for the heart.
Dr. Miriam Vos and public health nurse Jean Welsh at Emory University collaborated in a study that shows eating a lot of sugar can increase your cholesterol and triglycerides which make up body fat also known as lipids. And that increases the risk for heart disease. "Just like eating a high fat diet can increase your levels of triglycerides and cholesterol, eating sugar can also affect those same lipids," she said.
The researchers studied US government nutritional data and fat levels in the blood in more than 6,000 adults for at least six years.
The participants were divided into five groups according to the amount of sugar and sugar-based sweeteners they consumed daily. "The highest consuming group consumed an average of 46 teaspoons of sugar of added sugars. The lowest consuming group consumed only about on average three teaspoons," Welsh said.
"We found that people who consumed more added sugar are more likely to have high cardiovascular disease risk factors," said Dr. Vos.
Like declining HDL or "good" cholesterol. They found that high sugar consumption negatively affected HDL. HDL improves heart health and doctors want to see high HDL numbers.
"One of the things that this study was really helpful to show is that the amount of added sugar, as it increases, the triglycerides go up and the HDL goes down," said Dr. Vos.
The researchers found that HDL levels in those who consumed the most sugar were 20 percent lower than those who consumed the least amount.
The researchers say if people want to avoid heart disease, they should be more aware of how much sugar is in their food, and reduce it, if need be.
The American Heart Association says most American women should not consume more than 100 calories of added sugars per day; most men, no more than 150 calories.
It also warns that soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages are the number one source of added sugars in the American diet.
The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association
相关新闻报道：
据4月21日刊JAMA上的一则研究披露，进食较多的加工或预制食物中的添加糖分与较低浓度的高密度脂蛋白胆固醇（HDL-C，即“好的胆固醇”）及较高浓度的甘油三酯有关，这些都是心血管疾病的重要的风险因子。
文章的作者写道：“在美国，在近几十年中，人们的糖分摄取量有了显着的增加，其中大部分是因为人们摄取的“添加糖分”增加了（添加糖指的是食品工业和消费者所用的含热卡的甜味剂，它们是加工或预制食品中为了改善口味而添加的成分）。”现在还没有已知的检验添加糖的摄取量与血脂指标之间的关系的研究。这里的血脂指的是HDL-C、甘油三酯及低密度脂蛋白胆固醇（LDL-C）。
Emory University, Atlanta的Jean A. Welsh, M.P.H., R.N.及其同僚对在美国的成年人中的添加糖分的进食量与血脂浓度之间的相关性进行了评估。该项研究包括了来自National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2006中的6113名成年人。这些接受测试的人按照添加糖分的摄取量（这里所用的是在饮食建议中所指定的限度）而形成不同的小组：总热卡数低于5%[对照组]、5至低于10%组、10至低于17.5%组、17.5至低于25%组及25%及以上组。
研究人员发现，人们每日摄取的添加糖分平均量达3.2盎司（21.4茶匙，359卡），其热卡相当于全日热卡摄入量的15.8%。文章的作者写道：“这代表了从1977-1978年开始，添加糖分有了显着的增加，因为在当时（1977-1978）添加糖分仅占成人摄取热卡的10.6%。”
在摄取较多添加糖分的测试者中的校正后的平均HDL-C浓度较低。在添加糖摄取量较高的人中（1添加糖在10%或以上），其HDL-C浓度较低的机率为对照组（添加糖低于5%）浓度的50%至300%以上。
研究人员还发现，添加糖的较高的摄取量与较高的甘油三酯浓度及较高的甘油三酯/HDL-C比例有关。
“添加糖是食品添加剂，消费者可在食品和饮料包装的特别标签上发现其含量。我们的研究结果证明，添加糖分含量的增加与心血管疾病的重要风险因子有关，这些风险因子包括了较低浓度的HDL-C、较高浓度的甘油三酯以及较高的甘油三酯/HDL-C比例。”
“尽管有必要进行长期的实验来研究减少添加糖分和其它的碳水化合物对血脂浓度会发生什么样的影响，但我们的数据支持以减少添加糖摄取作为目标的饮食方针。” |
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