The sugar in your drink ‘is not the bad guy’

The perception that sugar, especially in soft drinks, is bad for health has persisted for a long time. Indeed, sugar in soft drinks has been the subject of numerous studies, some leading to controversial findings.

An article by Dr Cory Couillard in the DN2 on August 27 cited the findings of one such study claiming that soda causes violence in young children.

Findings by Dr Shakira Suglia from Columbia University, New York, linked consumption of soda to increased incidence of aggression among young children.

The researchers, however, were careful to warn that the findings do not prove that soda causes children to be violent or aggressive.

“It’s possible there’s something else associated with child behaviour and soda consumption that we just didn’t account for,” Dr Suglia said in an interview with the online health magazine sheknows.com.  “The study should be interpreted with caution.”

The implication here is that there are other factors that trigger violent or aggressive behaviour in a child, including how that child is raised and the social environment.

The researchers note that their study “is not able to identify the nature of the association between soft drinks and problem behaviours.”

A team of researchers at St Michael’s Hospital in Canada found that sugar, even in soda, is not bad for health as long as you balance calories from your diet with calories expended through physical activity.

All foods and beverages, including those that contain sugar, can be part of an active, healthy lifestyle that includes a sensible, balanced diet and regular physical activity.

The research team at St Michael’s, recently published findings of a critical review on the perception that consumption of fructose (main component of sugar together with glucose) is the primary culprit in increased incidence of obesity, hypertension, diabetes, stroke and heart disease when consumed at moderate levels.

The results of their study, Fructose-containing Sugars, Blood Pressure and Cardiometabolic Risk: A Critical Review, were published in August in the journal Current Hypertension Report.

“Controlled feeding trials have not found evidence of adverse effects on blood pressure, uric acid, blood lipids, body weight, glycaemic control, and liver health when fructose is compared with other carbohydrates (providing same calories) at moderate levels of intake,” noted the authors.

Several other studies indicate that consuming sugar in moderate levels can result in several health-related benefits. In fact, research shows that sugars (glucose) are the primary carbohydrate source required, for example, by the brain and muscle cells.

Fructose is a type of sugar that is naturally found in fruits and vegetables, and this variety is the same found in table sugar (from cane or beet) or high-fructose corn syrup used in the manufacture of foods and beverages, including soft drinks.

The scientists conducting the review note that the link between increased risk of cardiovascular ailments such as hypertension and heart disease associated with obesity is from other factors such as excess energy (calories) intake from any source, lack of exercise, smoking and eating fatty foods.

“Overall, unfavourable Western dietary pattern and lifestyle, in which consumers eat more calories, exercise less, and smoke more, as well as have a dietary pattern characterised by higher intakes of red meat, processed meat, refined grains, French fries, sweets and desserts, (are) factors which together have a significant influence on cardiometabolic risk,” the report continues.

It is more likely that lifestyle patterns, including dietary choices, are associated with increased risk of obesity and cardiometabolic risk than a single nutrient per se.

Mr Ndemwa is a food scientist working at Kemri. The views expressed here are personal.