China Center for Disease Control and Prevention: From 1990 to 2019, the mortality rate of Chinese residents due to excessive intake of sugary drinks increased by 35%

Do you usually drink milk tea or other beverages? If the answer is "yes", you should pay attention to this hot search recently - the article shows: In July 2022, a study published in the European Journal of Public Health by Zhou Maigeng and others from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that from 1990 to 2019, the number of deaths among Chinese residents due to excessive intake of sugary drinks almost doubled in 30 years, and the mortality rate caused by excessive intake of sugary drinks also increased by 35%.

The burden of cardiovascular disease and diabetes mortality caused by excessive intake of sugary drinks is particularly prominent. In the past 30 years, the number of deaths due to ischemic heart disease and diabetes has increased by 95% and 94%, respectively.

After seeing this, did your hands tremble slightly when you ordered milk tea? Can you still drink milk tea or other sugary drinks?

01. What is sugar and what is its function?

Before we dismiss sugar outright, we need to look at what effects sugar actually has.

Sugars are a class of organic compounds that are widely present in nature, also called carbohydrates, which include sucrose, glucose, fructose, galactose, lactose, maltose, starch, etc.

Among these sugars, except glucose, fructose and galactose which can be directly absorbed by the human body, the rest of the sugars must be converted into basic monosaccharides in the body before they can be absorbed and utilized.

For example, steamed bread contains a lot of starch. When we chew starch in our mouth, it stimulates the salivary glands in the mouth to produce salivary amylase. Under the action of salivary amylase, starch is hydrolyzed into maltose, so we taste sweetness when we eat steamed bread.

The maltose then enters the small intestine and is further broken down into glucose by the maltase secreted by the small intestinal glands, and then absorbed by the body.

The main function of sugar is to provide energy for the human body. Each gram of glucose can produce 4 kcal of energy when oxidized and decomposed in the human body, and about 70% of the energy needed by the human body is also provided by sugar. In addition, sugar is an important component of cells and tissues, and is an indispensable substance for maintaining human metabolism and immune function.

02. Why is excessive sugar intake "harmful"?

As mentioned above, sugar is necessary for our life activities, so we cannot live without it. However, once we consume too much sugar, it will have a significant negative impact on our body.

The specific ones are as follows:

1) If you take in too much sugar and fail to consume it in time, the excess calories will be converted into fat. In simple terms, you will gain weight.

2) Eating too much sugar will make people feel full, which will affect normal eating and lead to the deficiency of multiple nutrients. If children have a high-sugar diet for a long time, it will directly affect the growth and development of their bones and lead to diseases such as rickets. And if you eat too much sugary food or drink and do not pay attention to oral hygiene, it will provide good conditions for the growth and reproduction of bacteria in the mouth, which is easy to cause caries and oral ulcers.

3) Increase the burden on the liver. The liver is the main organ that regulates blood sugar concentration. If you consume too much sugar, in order to keep the blood sugar concentration stable, the liver will convert the sugar into fat, which can easily induce fatty liver.

4) Excessive sugar intake can cause a series of metabolic disorders. Sugar, fat, and protein are the three basic substances of human metabolism. High blood sugar leads to sugar metabolism disorder, which breaks the system's metabolic balance, and often leads to lipid and protein metabolism disorder, causing problems in the entire metabolic system.

Increased blood sugar will also increase blood viscosity, slow down blood flow, make blood vessels thinner, more brittle, and less elastic, leading to poor blood flow and blood vessel blockage, thereby greatly increasing the risk of coronary heart disease, cerebral infarction, stroke and other diseases.

Another point worth mentioning is that nowadays there are milk tea shops of all sizes in major cities, but numerous surveys have shown that even milk tea that is claimed to be completely sugar-free often has a high sugar content.

03. How to avoid excessive sugar intake?

The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)" states that adults need to control their intake of added sugar to no more than 50 grams per day, and it is best to control it below 25 grams.

In life, if you want to avoid excessive sugar intake, you can pay attention to the following points:

1) Do not drink sugary drinks. Drink less fruit juice and try to eat fresh fruits.

2) Eat less preserved fruits such as plums to reduce the intake of "hidden sugar". In order to prevent spoilage, many processed snacks will add a lot of sugar to inhibit bacterial growth.

3) Eat less puffed foods. Although they may not taste sweet, they contain a lot of starch but no dietary fiber that can inhibit the rise of sugar.

4) Use less ketchup, barbecue sauce and other sauces when cooking. These seasonings contain about 15 grams of sugar per 100 grams.

5) It is also not recommended to consume excessive amounts of “low-sugar” or “sugar-free” foods.

"Sugar-free" does not mean no sugar at all, but actually means no added sugar, such as sucrose, maltose, fructose, etc., instead, it is replaced by sugar substitutes such as xylitol. Although the calories are low, studies have shown that sugar-free drinks may also increase the risk of first-time new cardiovascular disease, and excessive intake of sugar alcohol sugar substitutes may cause diarrhea.

From Science Popularization China