Sugar is hard to avoid and deadly to eat. New research shows that a high-sugar diet may be enough to increase your risk for a heart event, heart disease, or worse.

As If You Needed Any More Reasons to Avoid This Ingredient

In All Health Watch, Diet and Nutrition, Featured Article, Heart and Cardiovascular

Sugar may be the most dangerous food you can eat. And yet it’s nearly impossible to avoid. But new research shows it may be even more deadly than we thought.

We already know that sugar raises your inflammation. It also causes blood sugar levels to spike. But researchers at the University of Otago in New Zealand took it a step further. They examined the link between carbohydrates from sugar and risk factors for heart disease. Things like blood lipids and pressure.

They looked at data from 1,699 subjects in 49 different trials. These studies took place over a span of nearly 50 years. And the results may prove what we’ve been saying for years…

Eating sugar raises your risk of cardiovascular disease. And it can happen no matter how much—or how little—you weigh.1

The researchers found that a higher carb diet raised blood triglycerides by 36%. It also raised total and LDL cholesterols by 37%. But that’s not even the worst of it. High-sugar diets saw up to 67% higher systolic and 72% higher diastolic blood pressures.2 Any one of these factors alone would be dangerous enough… But together they could be fatal.

Having high triglycerides may quadruple your risk for heart disease.3 LDL cholesterol levels aren’t necessarily a risk for heart disease… Unless your LDL particles are small and dense. This is “LDL pattern B.” Having this kind of LDL particle can mean up to a five-fold risk for developing heart disease. If your LDL levels are high on top of that your risk could be even greater.4 But the effect sugar has on blood pressure might be most dangerous.

High blood pressure can cause organ and tissue damage. It may weaken and scar blood vessels. Worst of all it increases the amount of work your circulatory system has to do. It puts your heart into overdrive just to get blood into arteries.5 At least 970 million people around the world live with high blood pressure.6 And just like sugar consumption, it’s on the rise. Not exactly a coincidence…

Even the researchers behind this study couldn’t escape the influence of Big Food. In fact, they found that studies funded by the food industry were skewing their results. Only after getting rid of these sugar-coated studies did they see the true numbers. But according to Dr. Lisa Te Morenga—the lead researcher of this study—it only helps support their findings.

This study may be the human evidence needed to wake up the mainstream to the cardiovascular risks of sugars in the average diet.7 But don’t wait for everyone else to catch on… You can start taking action today.

Eliminating grains and processed foods from your diet are key to avoiding sugars. Replace these foods with high-fiber leafy greens. Eating them may help you avoid heart events. They may even help you live longer after one.8 Remember, it was carbs from sugar—not vegetables—that increased risk.

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References:
1http://www.drperlmutter.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Am_J_Clin_Nutr-2014-Te_Morenga-ajcn.113.081521.pdf
2Idem
3https://my.americanheart.org/idc/groups/ahamah-public/@wcm/@sop/@smd/documents/downloadable/ucm_425988.pdf
4http://mainheartclinic.com/2011/05/cholesterol-particle-size/
5http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HighBloodPressure/AboutHighBloodPressure/What-is-High-Blood-Pressure_UCM_301759_Article.jsp
6http://www.world-heart-federation.org/cardiovascular-health/cardiovascular-disease-risk-factors/hypertension/
7ttp://www.otago.ac.nz/news/news/otago070760.html
8http://institutefornaturalhealing.com/2014/05/eating-this-may-help-you-live-longer-after-a-heart-attack/