HealthWatch: Sugary Soda May Lead to Diabetes

Dr. Kim Mulvihill Many Americans love to drink soda. But a new study suggests that women who drink sugar-sweetened sodas are more likely to develop diabetes. Harvard researchers reviewed data from a national survey involving 50,000 young and middle-aged women. They looked at what beverages these women drank over the course of nine years, and whether they gained weight or developed diabetes. "Women who were drinking sugar-sweetened soft drinks every day, or more than once a day, had an 80% increase in risk of diabetes compared with women who hardly ever drank sugared sodas," said Dr. Meir Stampfer of the Harvard School for Public Health. Researchers say sugar-sweetened drinks are high in calories, but you most likely won't feel full after drinking them. That means you can drink a lot, and the sodas -- which contain high fructose corn syrup -- may actually encourage diabetes to develop. "The sugared soft drinks are very rapidly absorbed and they cause a sharp up-swing in blood sugar, which causes a sharp increase in insulin production, and then this causes the blood sugar to go down," said Stampfer. Researchers call the cycle a recipe for diabetes, a potentially devastating disease. "This is not rocket science. If you're taking in calories, especially calories in the form of sugared soft drinks that have no other nutrient value, it's not at all surprising that you'd see weight gain," Stampfer said. The researchers found that diet soda and real fruit juice did not cause an increased risk of diabetes. A soft drink trade group says the study's conclusions are not scientifically sound, and that an unhealthy lifestyle -- not soda -- leads to weight gain and diabetes. article ------------------------ Good thing I hardly drink soda, water & coffee are my friends. And yes, diabetes runs in my family...so anything I can do to stay away (besides my love for sugar in my coffee & ice tea) i'll do. I know, i'm working on those other things! *covers ears and runs away* Easier said than done (just like smoking, or my love for fatty foods).