Guzzling Too Many Sugary Drinks Can Hurt Your Cholesterol—and Possibly Lead to Heart Issues – Runner’s World

• According to a new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, consuming sugary beverages too often could lead to low levels of HDL (good) cholesterol and high triglyceride levels.
• Low levels of HDL cholesterol and high triglyceride levels can lead to health issues such as heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.
• It’s best to limit added sugars to under 200 calories per day.

You’re coming up on mile 22 of your marathon when you spy an aid station up ahead. You feel like you need something to help hydrate and replenish you, so you reach for a cup of Gatorade to help you through the last few miles.

While sports drinks come with the territory of the sport—long runs and hard workouts require the fuel and electrolytes they provide—the tend to come with a ton of sugar, too. And according to new research, consuming these types of beverages too often can mess with your lipid profile—or the amount of cholesterol and fats (called triglycerides) in your blood.

In the study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers analyzed data collected from more than 5,900 people who were part of the Framingham Heart Study (FHS) that began in 1948. As part of the FHS, participants underwent a physical exam and various lab tests, and also provided info about their diet, lifestyle, and medical history. The researchers in the current Journal of the American Heart Association study looked at two subgroups of the FHS: the Framingham Offspring Study (FOS) and Generation Three.

The researchers found that adults who drank at least one sugary beverage per day during the subgroups’ most recent followup period—about four years before their blood lipid levels were checked—were 98 percent more likely to have low levels of HDL (good) cholesterol and 53 percent more likely to have high triglyceride levels than the group who rarely drank sugary beverages at all. The results were similar after a longer followup period of about 12 years.

Low levels of HDL cholesterol and high triglyceride levels can lead to health issues such as heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.

According to study author Nicola McKeown, Ph.D., nutritional epidemiologist at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, previous research suggests that the correlation between sugary drinks and cholesterol and triglyceride levels is probably due to the fructose component of sugar—a type of simple sugar that makes up 50 percent of table sugar.

Consuming sugary beverages increases the amount of fructose that is available in the liver, which is a major area in the body where fatty acids and triglycerides are produced, McKeown explains. Increased fructose intake could lead to more triglycerides and fatty acids being produced in your liver, “which could, in turn, lead to the development of an adverse lipid profile,” she told Runner’s World.

As for how often you should be guzzling sports drinks or other sugar-sweetened beverages like soda, McKeown’s advice is to stick to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which recommends limiting added sugars to no more than 10 percent of your total daily calories. (That’s 200 calories—or about 12 teaspoons—for a 2,000 calorie diet.) The American Heart Association (AHA) takes a stricter approach, recommending that women consume no more than 100 calories of added sugar per day—or about six teaspoons—and men consume no more than 150 calories of added sugar per day—or about nine teaspoons.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t reach for a sports drink after a particularly intense speed workout or long run over 60 to 90 minutes.

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“There are only a limited amount of glycogen stores available in your muscles, so you have to supplement with something else—like a sports drink—or else your blood sugar will drop and you’ll hit the wall,” Luke Belval, M.S., A.T.C., C.S.C.S., director of research at the Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Connecticut, previously told Runner’s World.

But if you are relying on a sports drink to fuel your runs, it might be worth cutting back on the amount of sugary beverages you drink other areas of your life. For instance, if you know you’ll be reaching for a sports drink that day, it might be a good idea to skip that morning glass of fruit juice or Starbucks frappuccino.

“Focusing on scaling back [on sugary drinks] will be a beneficial step to overall health,” McKeown said. “For those who enjoy the occasional soda, on special occasions for instance, be mindful of how much you pour into your glass and keep within the recommended guidelines.”

Associate Health & Fitness Editor Danielle specializes in interpreting and reporting the latest health research and also writes and edits in-depth service pieces about fitness, training, and nutrition.