(03-12-10) Having even one sugary drink a day significantly ups diabetes risk

by Jonathan Benson, staff writer

(NaturalNews) New research published in the journal Diabetes Care highlights
the dangers of drinking even small amounts of sugary beverages like high
fructose corn syrup-sweetened sodas and refined sugar-rich energy drinks.
According to the report, drinking even one sugary drink a day raises the risk
of developing type-2 diabetes by 25 percent -- which means that instead of the
current diabetes rate of one in ten, one-a-day drinkers have a one in eight
chance of developing type-2 diabetes.

Besides increasing their risk of type-2 diabetes, people who drink one sugary
beverage a day increase their risk of developing metabolic syndrome by 20
percent. Metabolic syndrome is the name given to a collection of risk factors
that indicate a progression not only towards type-2 diabetes, but also towards
heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and liver disease.

"Previous studies have shown that sugar-sweetened beverages are strongly
associated with weight gain," explained Vasanti Malik, author of the study and
research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health's Department of
Nutrition. And as many people now know, obesity is linked to a variety of
different health problems.

Earlier this year, research presented at the American Heart Association's
Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention Conference explained that
consumption of HFCS-sweetened soda has led to 130,000 new cases of diabetes,
14,000 new cases of heart disease, and 50,000 more "life years" with heart
disease -- and all within just ten years (http://www.naturalnews.
com/028340_d...).

One of the specific reasons why researchers believe sugary beverages are so
harmful is that they cause extreme spikes in blood sugar levels. The resultant
insulin resistance that develops creates inflammation and hypertension, both of
which lead to diabetes.

Avoiding all forms of refined sugar is beneficial not only for preventing
obesity but also the many diseases that emerge as a result of it, including
diabetes. When sweetening beverages, whole-leaf stevia is an excellent
alternative to refined sugar because it contains no sugar, no calories, and it
does not affect blood sugar levels -- and it is 100 percent natural.

(Note: whole leaf stevia is different from the processed stevia products now
found in many conventional grocery stores.)

Sources for this story include:

http://health.usnews.com/health-new...

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