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soft drinks - unhealthy no matter how they're sweetened?
Is sugar a drug? If you struggle with the temptations of the box of doughnuts in the break room or a bag of Snickers in your pantry, you might think so. Sometimes it’s hard to resist sweets, although there are some people who could care less about sweet tastes (they’re more likely to love salty snacks like chips). Recently a researcher suggested sugar sales should be regulated, like alcohol. Forget about whether this is even feasible (it’s not). Is sugar a drug?
Dr. Richard Johnson has done research linking high intake of fructose to elevated uric acid, kidney disease and hypertension. He’s involved with a new study that compares absorption of fructose from high fructose corn syrup (55% fructose) to absorption from table sugar (50% fructose, attached to glucose). Results showed a slightly higher blood fructose level after subjects drink soft drinks sweetened with HFCS.
If not sugar, then artificial sugar? Speaking of hypertension, another new study suggests high intake of diet soft drinks in linked to an increased risk for stroke.
Does a sweet tooth cause people to overeat sweets? Not according to another new study. Researchers compared subjects’ sweetness perception their food choices and calorie intakes. Results: no link at all between a person’s sweet preferences and total calories, even though subjects agreed that taste of food was an important factor in food choice.
Finally, if you’re a parent concerned about your child’s cholesterol level, check out my interview with Dr. Stephen Daniels, MD, chair of the NHLBI panel that just issued new cholesterol screen regulations for children.
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