Too much sugar can increase fat around the heart
Added sugar can lead to heart problems
A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR may indeed help the medicine go down, but it can also increase the amount of fat around your heart. That’s according to a new study, published in the European Journal of Cardiology. The study looked at 3,000 healthy participants aged 18-30, focusing on their food and beverage intake over 20 years; scans of the chest and abdomen were also examined. The researchers found higher sugar intake was linked with higher fat volumes later in life, which were linked to the risk of diabetes and heart disease. Study author So Yun Yi said, ‘Fat tissue that is located around the heart and in the abdomen releases chemicals into the body which can be harmful to health’.
The government recommends adults consume no more than 29g of free sugar a day. Free sugar refers to added or hidden sugars, as well as sugar found in honey, fruit juices etc. For reference, a 500ml bottle of Coke has 29g of added sugar and many flavoured yoghurts can contain up to 30g of the sweet stuff.