The Most Dangerous Food in Your Fridge

By Lisa Collier Cool Mar 27, 2013 94 Recommend

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by Lisa Collier Cool

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Americans are so hooked on sugary beverages that 50 percent of us guzzle them dailya habit that may be supersizing rates of early death, according to a

scary new Harvard study. The researchers linked sweet drinksfrom soda to sports and fruit beveragesto more than 180,000 deaths worldwide25,000 in the US alone. Not only are sugar-sweetened drinks making us fat, but the researchers also tied them to 133,000 deaths from diabetes, 44,000 from cardiovascular disease, and 6,000 cancer fatalities. The study was presented at the American Heart Associations Epidemiology and Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism 2013 Scientific Sessions. The team spent five years analyzing data from national health studies around the world. Their findings add to mounting evidence that sugar-sweetened beveragesalso known as liquid candy are toxic beyond their calories. Predictably, the American Beverage Association challenged the findings, saying that soft drinks are safe and refreshing. The group also noted that the research has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal and dubbed it more about sensationalism than science in a press release The researchers make a huge leap when they take beverage intake calculations from around the globe and allege that those beverages are the cause of deaths which the authors themselves acknowledge are due to chronic disease, the industry group stated. Top 10 Health Risks for Men

Killing Us Sweetly?
Were swilling more soft drinks than ever before: Since the 1970s, consumption has doubled for women and tripled for men. Incredibly, the average teenaged boy swills about a half gallon of sugary drinks dailythe most of any age group, with a total of nearly 300 calories, reports the CDC. In fact, sugary drinks are now the top calorie source in teens diet, beating out pizza, according to Harvard School of Public Health.

Overall, 70 percent of boys ages 2 to 19 guzzle sugary drinks daily, compared to 60 percent of girls. Men ages 20 to 39 consume the second highest amount, adding an average of 252 calories a day to their diet. Thats scary, since the researchers found that sweet drinks seem to be particularly lethal to adults under age 45. Among Americans in this age group, one in 10 obesity-related deaths were tied to sugar-sweetened beverages. However, this type of study isnt designed to prove a cause-and-effect relationship. The biggest risk identified in the study was the strong link between sweet drinks and death from type 2 diabetes. Findings from the well-known Harvard nurses study offer strong evidence that drinking even one 12-ounce soft drink a day can double risk for this debilitating disease, which now affects nearly 26 million Americans. Tips for Managing Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms

How Sugar Damages the Heart

A study published last year in Circulation: the Journal of the American Heart Association reports that men who drink one 12-ounce sugar-sweetened beverage daily (equivalent to a can of soda) have 20 percent increased risk of heart disease, the leading killer of Americans. The researchers tracked 42,883 men for 22 years. The findings mirror those of the Nurses' Health Study of nearly 89,000 women which found that women who swigged one sugary drink per day had a 23 percent increased risk of a heart attack. While the studies dont prove that sweet drinks spark heart disease, they found that the increased risk remained even when such major cardiovascular risks as smoking, family history, obesity, and a couch potato lifestyle were taken into account. Whats more, men who guzzled sugary drinks had higher levels of blood fats called triglycerides and lower levels of HDL good cholesterol than men who

shunned sweet drinks. Both obesity and diabetesconditions that have been linked to these beverages in multiple studiesfurther escalate heart risk. The AHA recommends that women limit themselves to no more than 100 calories a day from added sugar (about 6 teaspoons) and men to 150 calories (9 teaspoons). The group also advises a maximum of 450 calories (36 ounces) from sugar-sweetened beverages per week. The AHAs guidelines apply to both sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. Warning Signs of a Heart Attack

Another Danger of Sweet Drinks: Dementia

Sugary thirst-quenchers are also suspected of increasing risk for Alzheimers and other forms of dementia, as I recently reported. Indeed, these conditions are now being called type 3 diabetes due to the strong link between high blood sugar and memory loss. Americans are literally eating a diabetes diet thats very toxic to the brain and other vital organs, says Dr. Joel Zonszein, medical director of the diabetes clinic at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. And one of the most terrible complicationsbrain damageis occurring in younger and younger patients. A 2012 study found that key brain areas involved in memory and cognitive skills show damage once blood sugar hits the high end of the normal range, even when such risks as smoking, high blood pressure, alcohol abuse are taken into consideration. In the study, adults ages 60 to 64, with normal fasting blood sugar, as defined by the World Health Organization, had brain scans. When the scans were repeated four years later, those with higher blood sugar showed greater atrophy in areas of the brains hippocampus and amygdalaboth of which play a key role in memory and mental skills compared to did people with lower blood sugar.