Medical News

On an average, 7 out of every 10 teenagers would love to have a glazed doughnut for breakfast every morning. And for almost all of them, the favorite part of Halloween is the candy it brings. Yet, a recent study showing increased heart disease in frequent sweet eaters, may prove that candy is not so dandy!

The intricate balance between a ‘bad’ and a ‘good’ cholesterol in the body gets thrown off, as the high sugar intake causes a rise in the level of triglycerides and a dip in the level of HDL or a ‘good cholesterol’. As per the survey findings, regular consumption of sweets on a daily basis causes an increased risk of heart disease.

Almost 6000 adults had their diets minutely examined to measure the calorie content in their food. Their cholesterol levels and sugar consumption was duly noted, resulting in an astounding 16 percent of the per-day calorie intake being made up of added sugar.

Quite literally the sweetest participants were fueled by 46 teaspoonfuls of sugar in the day, while their counterparts diligently said ‘No to toffees’ and had just 3 teaspoonfuls per day.

Now all fruits and vegetables come with natural sugars. These are easily breakable during digestion and thus cause no harm to the body. Sugars found in processed food and preservatives must thus be taken only in limited quantities, 9 teaspoons for men and 6 for women.

Did you know that soft drinks contain a phenomenally high amount of sugar? If you’re drinking a coke a day to supposedly aid your digestion, put that away. Scientists that conduct surveys such as these, do it with the purpose of educating food and beverage producers to make their foods healthier, consequently reducing the risk of heart disease and obesity. In that line, many states are encouraged to tax users for their soft drink consumption.

Would you dare to sip on that soda if you knew you had to pay a half-cent sales tax with every purchase? An approximate calculation based on further research has shown that expenditure on soft drinks will reduce by almost 10 gallons annually if the above tax were levied, thus limiting sugar consumption in the state.

Man has used technology to make the world a very comfortable place to live in. Thus he is now looking for ways to prolong his life, so he can enjoy the comforts he has created. As a result, a large number of studies are being done eliminate health risks. Surveys such as the one we discussed, are only a small part of the research on harmful effects of high sugar consumption. The latter has been proven to lead to other tragedies besides heart failure, including high BP, stroke and diabetes.