It Just Makes Your Blood Boil

Thanks to Dr. Chaney for his weekly Tips from the Professor column.  I'm re-posting a great article supporting the belief that YOU CAN CHOOSE A HEALTHY LIFE.
 
By now you've probably figured out that I like catchy  titles. So what do I mean by "It Just Makes Your Blood Boil"?

In this case "It" refers to sweetened drinks - soft drinks, bottled teas, energy drinks and fruit-flavored drinks (By now you've probably figured out the "fruit- flavored" drinks are not the same as fruit juices).

And they don't exactly make your blood boil, but they can cause high blood pressure according to a major study that has just been published (Brown et al, Hypertension 57: 695-701, 2011).

High blood pressure is a silent killer. It's called a silent killer because many people who have high blood pressure never realize it until they have a heart attack or stroke.

This study looked at 2696 people aged 40 to 59 years old from the United States and England. It compared people who consumed no sweetened beverages with those who consumed one or less servings of sweetened beverages per day and people who consumed more than one sweetened beverage every day.

The bottom line is that sweetened beverage consumption was directly correlated with blood pressure. That's scientific jargon that simply means the more sweetened drinks/day consumed the higher the blood pressure.

Based on other human and animal studies, the most likely cause of the increased blood pressure was the extra amount of simple sugars consumed by the people drinking the most sweetened beverages.

However, there were other differences between the groups.

Sweetened drink consumption packed on extra calories (397 calories per day when you compare people consuming more than one sweetened beverage per day compared to people who drank no sweetened beverages). And those extra calories did result in added weight (44.8% of the high sweetened beverage consumers were obese compared to 31.4% of those people consuming no sweetened beverages).

And, the sweetened beverages were replacing healthier foods. The group consuming the most sweetened beverages had significantly lower intakes of fiber, protein, vegetable protein, omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium and calcium than the non-sweetened beverage consumers.

So we cannot be sure of the exact mechanism by which consumption of sweetened beverages affects our blood pressure,  but it is clear that high consumption of sweetened beverages causes high blood pressure.

The take home message is clear:

You already knew (or maybe suspected) that those soft drinks, bottled teas, energy drinks and fruit-flavored drinks weren't really good for you. But now you have yet another important reason to avoid them.

Your best bet is to drink water, unsweetened teas, low fat milk (or low fat soy or rice milk). Real fruit juice is better than the fruit-flavored juices, but it should be consumed in moderation.

And don't think that diet sodas will get you off the hook. This study reported that diet beverage consumers had a higher BMI (were more likely to be overweight) than non-consumers. (There actually is no evidence that long term consumption of diet sodas actually results in weight loss).

And, a study reported this year at the International Stroke Conference in Los Angeles found an increased risk of strokes in people who drink diet soft drinks.

To Your Health!
Dr. Stephen G Chaney


These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.