As sugar intake increases, the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease (heart attack or stroke) increases according to a recent analysis by researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

During an average follow-up of 14.6 years, compared to the one-fifth of people consuming the least amount of added sugar:

• the one-fifth consuming the next most amount of sugar were 7% more likely to die from cardiovascular disease
• the one-fifth consuming the third highest amount of sugar were 18% more likely to die from cardiovascular disease
• the one-fifth consuming the second highest amount of sugar were 38% more likely to die from cardiovascular disease
• the one-fifth consuming the most amount of sugar were 103% more likely to die from cardiovascular disease (2X as likely to die from CVD)

This was after adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity as well as sociodemographic, behavioral, and clinical characteristics.

The one-fourth of people with the highest percent intake of sugar (30% of calories) were 30% more likely to have mild cognitive impairment or dementia compare to the one-fourth of people with the lowest percent sugar intake (17% of calories) according to a study from researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA.

“A dietary pattern with relatively high caloric intake from carbohydrates and low caloric intake from fat and proteins may increase the risk of [mild cognitive impairment] or dementia in elderly persons,” the authors of the study concluded.

Women who consumed two (2) or more servings of sugar-sweetened beverages per day were 43% more likely to develop diabetes during an average follow-up of 8.4 years compared to women who consumed less than one (1) serving per week according to the Women’s Health Initiative study.

People consuming 25% or more of calories from added sugar were 2.8 times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease (heart attack or stroke) compared to people getting less than 10% of their calories from added sugar according to a recent analysis by researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This was after adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity as well as sociodemographic, behavioral, and clinical characteristics.

People consuming 10% to 24.9% of calories from added sugar were 1.3 times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease (heart attack or stroke) compared to people getting less than 10% of their calories from added sugar according to a recent analysis by researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This was after adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity as well as sociodemographic, behavioral, and clinical characteristics.

“Higher consumption of sugar sweetened beverages was associated with a greater incidence of type 2 diabetes, by 18% per one serving/day… [and by] 13% [after adjusting for body fat] according to a new study.

Sugar-sweetened beverages cause 184,000 deaths worldwide each year according to a recent analysis:

• 133,000 deaths per year from diabetes.
• 45,000 deaths per year from cardiovascular disease.
• 6,450 deaths per year from cancer.

People consuming 10% to 24.9% of calories from added sugar were 1.3 times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease during a follow-up of 14.6 years compared to people who consumed less than 10% of calories from added sugar according to a new study.

“We observed a significant relationship between added sugar consumption and increased risk for CVD mortality,” the researchers concluded.

People consuming 25% or more of calories from added sugar were 2.75 times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease during a follow-up of 14.6 years compared to people who consumed less than 10% of calories from added sugar according to a new study.

“We observed a significant relationship between added sugar consumption and increased risk for CVD mortality,” the researchers concluded.

“An indicator of changing diets is the increasing consumption of sugar and sweeteners, which has risen by over 20% per person between 1961 and 2009,” according to a new report titled Future Diets published in January 2014 by Overseas Development Institute.

Men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study who had a high consumption of regular sugar-sweetened soda were 1.66-times more likely to get non-Hodgkin lymphomas than men who did not consume regular soda according to a recent analysis.

Women consuming diet sodas did not show a significant increase.

(I have not seen a copy of the entire paper yet, so I don’t know what constitutes a “high consumption of regular sugar-sweetened soda”.)

The program they followed is described below.

[Over the past hundred years or so, lifespan has been increasing by roughly one month for every year, or an increase of one year every 12 years.]

This causes you to develop a tolerance to feeling good when eating it, and then feelings of withdrawal when you stop eating it.

"There is some evidence that becoming obese does blunt that reward system, so we do know that overexposure to [foods such as] McDonald's can cause those brain changes."

This causes you to develop a tolerance to feeling good when eating it, and then feelings of withdrawal when you stop eating it.

Lustig notes that this takes about 3 weeks to occur.

"That's why your doctor says, 'Eat less, exercise more,'... the problem is, it can't be done," says Lustig.

"It's not doable. There are reasons, biochemical reasons, why it's not doable that have to do with new hormones that have just been discovered."

In other words, if you are struggling with your weight or interested in your health, avoid these foods.

"When you add sugar to processed food, you kill it, and it's killing us" says Robert Lustig, MD, pediatric endocrinoligist from the University of California, San Francisco in a 7-part video series called "The Skinny on Obesity" (Episode 2). Read the entire article | Email this article

"If you look at the diseases of alcohol, and you look at the diseases of sugar and obesity, they are the same," notes Robert Lustig, MD, pediatric endocrinoligist from the University of California, San Francisco in a 7-part video series called "The Skinny on Obesity" (Episode 2). Read the entire article | Email this article

"Alcohol is metabolized to fat, and so is fructose, driving more liver fat then it can export, you get more insulin resistance, which drives the pancreas to make extra insulin, driving energy deposition into fat cells [increasing body fat], driving your weight gain, and the extra insulin is driving high blood pressure, driving heart disease, driving cell division which leads to cancer, driving changes in the brain that lead to dementia. Driving every single one of these diseases," notes Robert Lustig, MD, pediatric endocrinoligist from the University of California, San Francisco in a 7-part video series called "The Skinny on Obesity" (Episode 2).

"When the pancreas can't make enough insulin, and it burns out, it drives diabetes as well."

"Fructose is a chronic, dose-dependent, liver toxin, which is just like alcohol," notes Robert Lustig, MD, pediatric endocrinoligist from the University of California, San Francisco in a 7-part video series called "The Skinny on Obesity" (Episode 2).

"In fact, fructose, the sweetheart of sugar, is more like alcohol than it is anything else."

"Glucose and fructose are very different, " notes Robert Lustig, MD, pediatric endocrinoligist from the University of California, San Francisco in a 7-part video series called "The Skinny on Obesity" (Episode 2).

He notes that every organism on the planet can absorb and metabolize glucose, but only the liver can metabolize fructose, which, when we consume too much fructose, overloads the liver and causes numerous chronic diseases.

"Sugar is made up of molecules, glucose, which is not very sweet and not very interesting, and fructose, which is very sweet and very interesting. Fructose is the thing that we crave," notes Robert Lustig, MD, pediatric endocrinoligist from the University of California, San Francisco in a 7-part video series called "The Skinny on Obesity" (Episode 2). Read the entire article | Email this article

"When we started putting fat and carbohydrate on the same plate in the 1700's, we became gourmets," notes Robert Lustig, MD, pediatric endocrinoligist from the University of California, San Francisco in a 7-part video series called "The Skinny on Obesity" (Episode 2).

"In the 20th century, when we started putting fat and carbohydrate in the same food, we became 'gourmands'."

"It's when you put fat and carbohydrate together, but they don't work."