Do you reach for your favorite flavored coffee in the morning to kick-start your day? Maybe you rely on that can of soda to get you through the mid-afternoon slump. These drinks can be great pick-me-ups. But recent research shows the added sugar they contain can hurt your heart and trigger other health problems – even more than the solid sugars contained in the occasional sweets.
Indulging in the occasional sweet treat or drink is fine. But a new study with 70,000 people shows that regularly consuming drinks with added sugar boosts your risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. It can also lead to weight gain, anxiety, and other mental health problems.
Monika Moni, MD, a Family Medicine and Obesity Medicine specialist with The Christ Hospital Physicians-Primary Care , explains how sugary drinks impact your body and how you can safely consume them.
Added sugar and cardiovascular disease
According to the study results, researchers determined that sugary drinks increase your risk of several types of cardiovascular disease, including aortic aneurysm, atrial fibrillation, heart failure and stroke.
In fact, Dr. Moni says sugary drinks like sodas or flavored coffees may be a double whammy for your heart because many also contain high levels of caffeine.
“Just one sugary drink has more than the recommended daily intake of 300 to 400 milligrams of caffeine. And many people consume three or four drinks a day,” she says. “This can lead to significant cardiovascular problems because sugar added in with caffeine is the ultimate hit on the heart.”
Consuming too many of these drinks can prompt atrial fibrillation, a common cause of heart palpitations and irregular heartbeat. Over time, atrial fibrillation can lead to other cardiovascular problems like cardiomyopathy (weakened heart muscle), congestive heart failure (low blood flow) and high blood pressure. Together, these problems increase your risk of having a heart attack.
Dr. Moni warns fruit juices and smoothies can contain higher levels of sugar than most people realize.
Added sugar and weight
Sugary drinks impact your body in other ways, as well. The biggest effect is inflammation, Dr. Moni says.
“When we drink or eat a lot of sugary things, our normal fat cells get converted into stored fat,” she says. “They get abnormally large, and they lose their ability to produce anti-inflammatory enzymes.”
Sugar also affects your hypothalamus, the brain’s appetite control center. Inflammation causes this gland to stop working.
“An inflamed hypothalamus cannot regulate your eating habits or how your body metabolizes the calories you eat,” she says. “Your body goes into storing mode, and you won’t be able to lose weight no matter what you do.”
Added sugar and your brain
Inflammation in your hypothalamus—and your brain overall—can lead to hyperactivity and a decreased attention span. This impact presents a significant risk for younger people, Dr. Moni says.
“With younger people, their brain development and body metabolism are not yet complete,” she says. “Putting inflammatory markers in their system now will impact their next 30 to 40 years of life.”
Essentially, she says, younger people who frequently consume sugary drinks face higher rates of cardiovascular disease and obesity at earlier ages.
Drinks with added sugar can also interfere with your sleep. Sugar stimulates your brain, making it harder for you to fall—and stay—asleep. In addition, the quality of sleep drops as you consume more sugar.
The safe amount of added sugar
The amount of sugar you should consume in one day is less than most people think. According to the American Heart Association, added sugar should be less than 6 percent of your daily calories. That’s about 160 calories for women and 150 calories for men i or roughly 25 grams of sugar women and 36 grams for men.
“Keeping your sugar intake to less than 25 grams of added sugar keeps you in the safe, healthy limit,” Dr. Moni says. “Unfortunately, many people don’t know what that actually looks like.”
For example, she says, one cookie or a small piece of cake each has 15 to 20 grams of sugar. But drinking a single 12-ounce can of soda or an energy drink can put you over the daily limit—each can contain between 30 and 50 grams of sugar. It’s harder for your body to process added sugars than the natural sugars found in raw fruits.
Fortunately, it’s possible to undo the impact sugary drinks have on your heart and the rest of your body.
“You can dial back the damage quickly. But in the long run, if you switch to water, cut back on sugary drinks, and add in exercise and strength training, you can decrease abnormal fat and lower the inflammation levels in your body,” she says. “It may take some time, but the overall impact of consuming sugary drinks is reversible.”