There are various types of sugary drinks available in market these days - right from fizzy cola drinks to flavoured energy drinks and to fruit juices. If you love drinking sugary drinks every then and now, then here's something you must read. Over-indulging in sugary drinks may put your health at risk. Yes, that' right! If the findings of a latest study are to be believed, sugary drinks may be associated with an increased risk of Type-2 diabetes. If people increase their consumption of sugary drinks - even if they have added or naturally occurring sugar - they are at moderately higher risk of Type-2 diabetes, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Drinking more sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), including soft drinks, as well as 100% fruit juices, were associated with higher type-2 diabetes risk.
The researchers also found that consuming artificially-sweetened drinks (ASBs) instead of sugary beverages did not appear to lessen diabetes risk. Contrariwise, it was observed that diabetes risk decreased when one daily serving of any type of sugary beverage was replaced with water, coffee, or tea. It is the first study to analyse the connection between long-term changes in SSB and ASB consumption and Type-2 diabetes. The study was published online October 3, 2019, in the journal Diabetes Care.
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Diabetes: The researchers also found that consuming artificially-sweetened drinks instead of sugary beverages did not appear to lessen diabetes risk.
"The study provides further evidence demonstrating the health benefits associated with decreasing sugary beverage consumption and replacing these drinks with healthier alternatives like water, coffee, or tea," said lead author Jean-Philippe Drouin-Chartier, postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Nutrition.
The study looked at 22-26 years' worth of data from more than 192,000 men and women participating in three long-term studies -- the Nurses' Health Study, the Nurses' Health Study II, and the Health Professionals' Follow-up Study. Researchers calculated changes in participants' sugary beverage consumption over time from their responses to food frequency questionnaires administered every four years.
Moreover, the researchers found that replacing one daily serving of a sugary drink with water, coffee or tea (but not with an ASB) was associated with a 2-10% lower risk of Type-2 diabetes.
"The study results are in line with current recommendations to replace sugary beverages with noncaloric beverages free of artificial sweeteners. Although fruit juices contain some nutrients, their consumption should be moderated," said Frank Hu, Fredrick J. Stare professor of nutrition and epidemiology and senior author of the study.