Sugar puts healthy people at risk of developing heart disease: study

05 Oct 2017 --- Healthy people who consume high levels of sugar are at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to a groundbreaking study from the University of Surrey. The study found that a subject group of otherwise healthy men had increased levels of fat in their blood and fat stored in their liver after they had consumed a high-sugar diet.

“Our findings provide new evidence that consuming high amounts of sugar can alter your fat metabolism in ways that could increase your risk of cardiovascular disease,” says Bruce Griffin, Professor of Nutritional Metabolism.

While most adults don’t consume the high levels of sugar used in the study, some children and teenagers may reach these levels of sugar intake by over-consuming soft drinks and sweets, according to Griffin.

“This raises concern for the future health of the younger population, especially in view of the alarmingly high prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in children and teenagers, and exponential rise of fatal liver disease in adults,” Griffin adds.

Sugar makes big impact
The study, which has been published in Clinical Science, looked at two groups of men with either high or low levels of liver fat, and fed them a high- or low-sugar diet to find out if the amount of liver fat influences the impact of sugar on cardiovascular health.

The low sugar diet contained no more than 140 calories a day worth of sugar – an amount close to the recommended intake – while the high sugar diet contained 650 calories worth.

After 12 weeks on the high sugar diet, the men with a high level of liver fat – a condition known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) – showed changes in their fat metabolism that are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attacks and strokes.

Fat metabolism is the biochemical process by which fats are transported and broken down in the blood, and used by the cells of the body.

The results also revealed that when the group of healthy men with a low level of liver fat consumed a high amount of sugar, their liver fat increased and their fat metabolism became similar to that of the men with NAFLD.