Sugar is everywhere in our food and drinks. We all know that too much sugar isn’t good for us. Now, a new study gives more reasons to watch our sugar intake.
This study looked at a lot of past research and found sugar can lead to health problems like asthma, diabetes, obesity, heart issues, and even some cancers.
What Did The Study Find?
Researchers from China and the U.S. decided to look into how sugar affects our health. They used something called an umbrella review.
This is a special kind of study where researchers look at many past studies to get a big picture.
They looked at 73 past studies. These studies had details about 83 health problems in adults and kids. The researchers checked how well each study was done. They rated each one as high, medium, low, or very low quality.
Here’s what they found:
Eating too much sugar was linked to 18 problems related to hormones and metabolism, like diabetes.
It was also linked to 10 heart problems, like high blood pressure and heart attacks.
There were seven kinds of cancer linked to sugar, including breast and prostate cancer.
Sugar was also linked to 10 other issues, including asthma, tooth problems, and depression.
How Much Sugar Is Too Much?
Based on their findings and advice from groups like the World Health Organization, the researchers have some advice.
They think we should eat less than 25 grams of added sugar a day. That’s about six teaspoons. They also say we should drink sugar-sweetened drinks, like sodas, less than once a week.
They did find a few health problems that seemed better with more sugar. But the evidence was weak, so it’s best to be careful.
What’s Next?
The researchers say most of the studies they looked at were observational. This means they just watch and see what happens. They don’t test anything. So, the evidence isn’t the strongest.
Still, the researchers think we need to be careful with sugar. They think more research, especially on sugar and cancer, would be a good idea.
They also think everyone, especially kids and teenagers, should be taught about the dangers of too much sugar. They say governments around the world should make policies to help reduce sugar in our diets.
If you care about nutrition, please read studies about berry that can prevent cancer, diabetes, and obesity, and natural blood pressure controllers: 12 foods that lower blood pressure.
For more information about nutrition, please see recent studies about diet to fight diabetic eye damage, and results showing these antioxidants could help reduce dementia risk.
The study was published in The BMJ.
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