According to a 2013 study published in the American Journal of Public Health, almost 1 out of every 5 deaths in the US is obesity related. While obesity is a risk factor for serious diseases, there is an underlying condition that associates obesity to serious conditions including heart disease — metabolic syndrome.
According to the American Heart Association, about 34 percent of Americans have metabolic syndrome. This syndrome is used to describe a group of symptoms. These symptoms include abdominal obesity, low HDL cholesterol levels (good cholesterol), high triglycerides, and high blood sugar. All of these are major risk factors for heart disease.
Research is building up showing that high sugar intake greatly increases heart disease risk, and is a leading cause of metabolic dysfunction.
“Refined fructose is actually broken down very much like alcohol, damaging your liver and causing mitochondrial and metabolic dysfunction in the same way as ethanol and other toxins,” said Dr. Joseph Mercola, a leading physician and health expert.
Fructose also causes metabolic dysfunction because it is metabolized into fat more than any type of sugar. A meta-review published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings shows that refined fructose is more harmful to health than all other sugars.
The average American consumes one-third pound of sugar per day, and half of this is refined fructose.
“The majority of all this sugar is hidden in processed foods and beverages, so to address obesity and related health issues like diabetes and heart disease, ridding your diet of processed fare is key for success,” Dr. Mercola said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends reducing sugar consumption to lower obesity and tooth decay risk. They suggest limiting sugar to 10 percent or less of daily calories. This is equal to about 12 teaspoons for adults.
WHO also recommends limiting sugar to 5 percent of daily calories to prevent chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
“The latter five percent limit is right in line with my own standard recommendation for healthy people, which calls for keeping your total fructose consumption below 25 grams per day, or about five teaspoons,” Mercola says. “However, if you already have signs of insulin resistance, such as hypertension, obesity, or heart disease, I believe you’d be wise to limit your total fructose consumption even further—down to 15 grams or less until your weight and other health conditions have normalized.”
Note: None of the information in our website is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any illness or disease. The content on our website is for educational purposes only.
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REFERENCES:
1. “Link Between Dietary Sugar Intake and Heart Disease Mortality.” Mercola.com. Mercola.com, 16 Mar. 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.
2. “The Impact of Obesity on US Mortality Levels: The Importance of Age and Cohort Factors in Population Estimates.” American Journal of Public Health. American Public Health Association, Oct. 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.
3. “Added Fructose: A Principal Driver of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Its Consequences.” Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 29 Jan. 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.
4. “Slash Sugar Intake to Fight Obesity, Tooth Decay: WHO.” Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 04 Mar. 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.
5. “Dietary Sugar Intake and Cardiovascular Disease.” The Journal of the American Medical Association. JAMA Network, 3 Mar. 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.
6. “Sugar Intake and Cardiovascular Diseases Mortality.” JAMA Internal Medicine. JAMA Network, Apr. 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.
7. “About Metabolic Syndrome.” American Heart Association. American Heart Association, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.
