It’s well known that drinking sugary beverages can raise the risk of diabetes, but scientists have long wondered why.
A new study, published in Cell Metabolism, suggests that gut bacteria may play a key role.
Researchers found that people who frequently drink sugary beverages have different gut bacteria and blood metabolite profiles compared to those who drink less.
These changes in the body were linked to a higher chance of developing diabetes over the next decade.
Since some of these metabolites are made by gut bacteria, it’s possible that changes in the gut microbiome help explain why sugary drinks are harmful to metabolism.
The study was led by epidemiologist Dr. Qibin Qi at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. His team examined data from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), a large-scale study that tracks the health of over 16,000 people in the U.S.
The participants, who live in cities like San Diego, Chicago, Miami, and the Bronx, provided detailed information about their diet, including their intake of sugary drinks like soda and sweetened fruit juice.
At the start of the study, participants were asked to recall what they ate in the past 24 hours. Researchers also took blood samples to measure metabolites—small molecules involved in metabolism. Later, a subset of participants (3,035 individuals) provided stool samples so that scientists could analyze their gut bacteria.
The key findings were:
- Drinking two or more sugary beverages per day was linked to changes in the gut microbiome, with differences in nine types of bacteria.
- Some of these bacteria normally produce short-chain fatty acids, which are beneficial for blood sugar control. However, in people who consumed high amounts of sugary drinks, these helpful bacteria were found in lower amounts.
- The altered gut bacteria were not linked to sugar intake from solid foods—only from beverages.
- High consumption of sugary drinks was linked to changes in 56 blood metabolites, some of which are made by gut bacteria.
- These metabolites were linked to poor metabolic health, including higher blood sugar, higher insulin levels, higher BMI, and lower “good” cholesterol.
- People with higher levels of these metabolites were more likely to develop diabetes within 10 years.
Why This Matters
Sugary drinks are the leading source of added sugar in the American diet. In 2017–2018, U.S. adults consumed an average of 34.8 grams of added sugar per day from beverages alone.
Unlike solid foods, sugary drinks are absorbed quickly, leading to sharp spikes in blood sugar. This study adds another layer to the problem—it suggests that sugary drinks may also harm metabolism by changing gut bacteria and their byproducts.
Previous studies in Europe and China have shown that sugary drinks can alter the gut microbiome, but this is the first study to investigate whether these changes impact diabetes risk. It is also the first study to focus on Hispanic/Latino adults, a group that has high rates of both diabetes and sugary drink consumption.
What’s Next?
While the study found strong links between sugary drink consumption, gut bacteria, and diabetes risk, it had some limitations.
Researchers only collected gut bacteria samples from a subset of participants, so they couldn’t directly confirm whether specific bacteria contribute to diabetes. Future research will focus on testing whether these bacterial changes directly impact diabetes risk.
The researchers also plan to study other health conditions linked to sugar intake, such as heart disease, to see if gut bacteria play a role in those as well.
This study suggests that sugary drinks may increase diabetes risk not just by raising blood sugar but also by altering gut bacteria and their metabolic byproducts. If these findings are confirmed, they could open new ways to prevent or manage diabetes by focusing on gut health.
For now, reducing sugary drink intake remains one of the best ways to lower diabetes risk. Cutting back on soda and other sweetened drinks may not only help with blood sugar control but also support a healthier gut microbiome.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about the cooking connection between potatoes and diabetes, and low calorie diets may help reverse type 2 diabetes.
For more health information, please see recent studies about protein power: a new ally in diabetes management, and pineapple and diabetes: A sweet surprise.
The research findings can be found in Cell Metabolism.
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