Consuming large amounts of sugars in ready meals is associated with low levels of HDL cholesterol and high levels of triglycerides, both important cardiovascular risk factors.
Although that seems logical, no scientific studies had examined the association between consumption of added sugars and lipid figures, like cholesterol HDL, LDL and triglycerides. This is recognized by Jean A. Welsh, of Emory University in Atlanta, who has explored this relationship in the adult U.S. population. The study, whose results are published today in JAMA, has included 6113 adults from the National Survey of Health and Nutrition Examination.
Participants were divided into several groups according to their intake of added sugar: consumption of less than 5 percent of total calories; between 5 and 10 percent, from 10 to 17.5 percent, from 17.5 to 25 percent and exceeding 25 percent.
The average HDL in those who consumed less than 5 percent of added sugars of their total calories was 58.7 mg / dL, and the remaining groups (lowest to highest intake of sugars) in 57.5 mg / dL , 53.7 mg / dL, 51 mg / dL and 47.7 mg / dL, respectively.
In the largest consumers of low HDL cholesterol levels were 50 to 300 percent higher than those who ate the minimum amounts. The amounts of triglycerides were higher among those consuming more sweeteners.