Moderate sweets intake may aid heart health, Swedish study finds
Swedish scientists have discovered that completely eliminating sweets from your diet may not be beneficial for cardiovascular health. Their research suggests that occasionally consuming sugary snacks may reduce the risk of heart disease.
Sweets are typically associated with unhealthy eating habits that can contribute to weight issues, diabetes, or heart disease. However, scientific studies are beginning to indicate that moderate consumption of sweets, especially those with appropriate ingredients, can positively affect heart health. How is this possible?
As TVN24 highlights, a team of researchers from Lund University analyzed data from two large population studies: the Swedish Mammography Cohort and the Cohort of Swedish Men, covering a total of 69,705 individuals.
In 1997 and 2009, participants filled out dietary questionnaires, which allowed researchers to track their eating habits over time.
The researchers focused on three types of high-sugar products: additives (such as honey), sweet snacks (such as cookies), and sweetened beverages (e.g., sodas). They analyzed their impact on the occurrence of seven cardiovascular diseases, including two types of strokes, heart attack, heart failure, abdominal aortic aneurysm, atrial fibrillation, and aortic stenosis.
By 2019, cardiovascular diseases were diagnosed in 25,739 participants. The results showed that consuming sweetened beverages significantly increases the risk of ischemic stroke, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and abdominal aortic aneurysm.
Liquid sugars, found in sweetened beverages, usually provide less feeling of fullness than solid forms, which can lead to overconsumption - said Suzanne Janzi, a PhD candidate at Lund University and author of the article published in "Frontiers in Public Health".
Is occasional eating of sweets beneficial for the heart? The results speak plainly
The most interesting finding was that people who completely avoided sweet snacks had a higher risk of negative health effects than those who consumed them occasionally. Janzi suggested that this might result from a very restrictive diet or existing health problems among those individuals.
Although our observational study cannot establish a cause-and-effect relationship, these results suggest that extremely low sugar intake may not be necessary or beneficial for cardiovascular health - noted Janzi.
