If you want to destroy your heart, say researchers at the University of California, there’s an easy, tasty, quick way to do it: Keep guzzling soft drinks.
High fructose corn syrup, the sweetener used in most soft drinks is one of the worst things for your cardiovascular system. And the more you drink, say the scientists who studied this sickly sweet substance, the more you increase the danger to your heart and arteries.
The researchers note that the results of their study support data that shows as Americans, and the rest of the world, keeps downing more and more corn syrup and other sugars, the chances of dying from heart problems keeps getting higher and higher.
“These findings clearly indicate that humans are acutely sensitive to the harmful effects of excess dietary sugar over a broad range of consumption levels,” says researcher Kimber Stanhope.
In the California test, 85 people between the ages of 18 and 40 consumed various amounts of beverages flavored with high-fructose corn syrup for two weeks. During the study, the researchers monitored the participants’ triglycerides (blood fats), uric acid and LDL (bad) cholesterol – all of which indicate heart disease risk.
They found that all of the risk factors climbed in step with the amount of high-fructose corn syrup that was being consumed.
They also discovered that men had the biggest increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease from the soft drinks.
In light of these findings, Stanhope warns that nobody has ever done a study that establishes how much high-fructose corn syrup and other sugars is safe to consume without compromising your health.
But I know the answer to that one – as little as possible.
One thing you can add to any drink to make it sweet is lucuma. It comes from a Peruvian fruit that is dried and ground to make a maple-like powder. It’s called “Gold of the Incas” in South America, where they use it like we use cane sugar … in drinks and ice cream and treats. And the good news is you can find real lucuma powder in the Peruvian restaurants and South American markets you see cropping up in both big and small cities.
