Long-term sugar consumption linked to increased early death risk

Sugar is added to many products. We can find it in drinks commonly considered harmful, such as fruit juices, flavoured waters, and isotonic drinks. Apart from a substantial dose of sugar, these drinks sometimes contain other substances that are very harmful to health. This is why nutritionists often call them "liquid death." Why are sugary drinks so dangerous?

Researchers have been signalling for many years that consuming sweet, colourful drinks is very dangerous for our health. Studies indicate that drinking them contributes to the development of diseases such as diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, gum disease cavities, or even cancers. It increases the risk of stroke or heart disease. Sugary drinks can be very dangerous to health and life.

Scientists from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health confirmed from long-term studies on Americans that long-term consumption of sugary drinks increases the risk of premature death by up to 21 percent.

Sugary drinks are any products to which sugar is added, often under different names. This can include brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, fructose, glucose, glucose-fructose syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, maple syrup, crystalline dextrose, honey, malt syrup, molasses, and white sugar.

In which drinks is sugar most commonly added? These are primarily carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks, juices, energy drinks, lemonades, sweet teas, flavoured waters, or milk-based drinks. Such drinks can contain large amounts of sugar, which are harmful even in the mouth.

Sugary drinks are unhealthy also because they cause rapid spikes in insulin and glucose levels in the blood. Frequent consumption of sugary drinks is also a straightforward path to developing insulin resistance and hormonal imbalance. This acts as a cause-and-effect chain. First, it leads to a prediabetic state, which creates carbohydrate intolerance, leading to type 2 diabetes. In turn, diabetes and obesity increase the risk of cancer of the pancreas, colon, kidneys, oesophagus, blood, or uterus.

Sugary drinks are addictive, which is why it is so hard to refrain from consuming them. The more sugar you provide to your body, the harder it is to quit the harmful eating habit from one day to the next. It is worth starting with small steps—limit consumption and control how many sugary drinks you consume.