Study Finds Direct Link Between Sugary Diets And Fatal Cardiac Disease

By Dennis Lambert
Published: Wednesday, February 5, 2014 - 9:30am
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A new study shows a link between heart disease and sugar intake. The study analyzed the diets of 30,000 Americans over a 22-year period. It found those who have more sugar in the diet are three times more likely to die prematurely from heart problems, than those with little added sugar. Dr. Mitchell Ross of St. Joseph’s Hospital says however, there are still many questions about what the added sugar means for overall heart health.

“It’s not entirely clear what the specific mechanism is but what’s interesting is that it shows that there’s a direct link between the sugar consumption and dying of cardiac disease later in life,” Ross said.

Ross says the study is the first to look at a national population of patients that links added sugar directly to the risk of dying of cardiovascular disease, specifically hypertension, heart attack, stroke and heart failure.