Despite the small waists of some women, sugary beverages may raise the risk of heart disease in these seemingly healthy looking women.
According to a five-year study, women who drank at least two or more sugary drinks per day were four times more likely to develop high triglyceride levels than women who drank fewer sugar-sweetened beverages.
The sugary drinks that raise the risk for women could come in any form — from the Southern favorite sweet tea to the run-of-the-mill soda. This report is particularly striking considering the rise in sugar-laced coffee drinks, which are promoted by large chain restaurants.
Even though the women did not gain weight, the sugar in the beverages worked in a counterproductive way, providing energy but raising the risk of developing abnormal levels of fasting glucose, a sign they could be developing diabetes.
Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center followed 4,166 people between the ages of 45 and 84 who were part of the larger Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis study.
Sugar’d connection to heart disease resides its affect on cholesterol. According to Dr. Stephen Devries, a cardiologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, daily doses of refined sugar can disrupt metabolism in several ways:
High sugar levels increase triglycerides, lower good cholesterol and prompt the body to make an especially damaging, smaller molecule of bad cholesterol. Too much sugar also raises levels of inflammation, another risk factor heart disease.
It looks like it is time for women to put down the sugary drinks for water!