Posts Tagged "Diet"

Garcinia cambogia is yet another entrant in the growing list of natural supplements being marketed as the answer to obesity. G. cambogia is most well-known for its use as a spice. This product, which is classified as a fruit, is naturally found throughout southeastern Asia, India and western Africa.

One of nearly 300 species of Garcinia, G. cambogia is the one most studied for its weight-loss potential. G. cambogia grows as a small tree and produces a rusty-red round fruit.² It is the rind of this fruit that is used for both culinary and therapeutic purposes.

Obesity is a tremendous health problem, not just in the United States but globally as well. An estimated 1 billion adults worldwide are overweight, and nearly one-third of those are considered clinically obese. In the United States alone, the overall cost of obesity was estimated by the CDC to be nearly $150 billion per year.

G. cambogia became popular as a weight-loss aid when it was noted to enhance satiety in its native regions. A secondary effect of the fruit is its potent laxative action.⁶ The active ingredient of G. cambogia is hydroxycitric acid (HCA).
The mechanism of fat metabolism is complex, and the role of G. cambogia in this process is debatable.

Metabolically, HCA appears to be the source of early satiety. This acid enters the energy-production process of the Kreb’s cycle and ultimately increases hepatic glycogen synthesis and inhibits formation of low-density lipoproteins.
This is thought to signal to our brains that we have had enough to eat. Some suggest that HCA interacts with the production of the adipose-controlling hormone leptin, but these claims have yet to be substantiated by clinical trials.

In a meta-analysis literature review, researchers identified only 23 trials that met review criteria. Fewer than half of those ultimately met the proper standards for well-done randomized, placebo-controlled trials.

After the final data analysis, use of G. cambogia was associated with a very slight (0.88 kg) weight loss over control groups, but also with twice the number of adverse GI effects.

Korean researchers studied the effects of G. cambogia, placebo, and another weight-loss supplement in 86 overweight adults in a 10-week randomized trial.  At the end of the study, no statistically significant weight loss was found in any of the three groups.

In another small trial, researchers studied 24 overweight adults over two weeks of daily intake of G. cambogia HCA extract. In addition to actual weight loss being monitored, 24-hour energy intake was tracked. By the end of the trial, energy intake was reduced by 15% to 30% in the 
G. cambogia group over placebo, with a very modest trend in weight loss.

Finally, a study in India focused on 60 obese individuals who were randomized to HCA plus two other supplements, or placebo. At the end of eight weeks, both HCA groups had a 5% to 6% reduction in weight and BMI. Food intake, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides all decreased in the HCA groups, and HDL levels increased.

Unfortunately, evidence-based literature demonstrates the potential for adverse events in G. cambogia/HCA. In addition to significant GI upset, increasing reports of hepatic injury are surfacing.

For example, researchers found that daily feeding with HCA supplement did result in decreased fat accumulation and glucose resistance in obese mice, but at the expense of significant hepatic fibrotic changes and inflammation.

Source: MPR

A popular and controversial sports supplement widely sold in the USA and other countries is secretly spiked with a chemical similar to methamphetamine that appears to have its origins as an illicit designer recreational drug, according to new tests by scientists in the USA and South Korea.

The test results on samples of Craze, a pre-workout powder made by New York-based Driven Sports and marketed as containing only natural ingredients, raise significant health and regulatory concerns, the researchers said. The U.S. researchers also said they found the same methamphetamine-like chemical in another supplement, Detonate, which is sold as an all-natural weight loss pill by another company: Gaspari Nutrition.

“These are basically brand-new drugs that are being designed in clandestine laboratories where there’s absolutely no guarantee of quality control,” said Pieter Cohen, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and a co-author of the analysis of Craze samples being published today in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Drug Testing and Analysis.

“It has never been studied in the human body,” Cohen warned. “Yes, it might make you feel better or have you more pumped up in your workout, but the risks you might be putting your body under of heart attack and stroke are completely unknown.”

Craze, which is marketed as giving “unrelenting energy and focus” in workouts, was named 2012’s “New Supplement of the Year” by Bodybuilding.com. A USA TODAY investigation published in July reported on other tests detecting amphetamine-like compounds in Craze.

While Walmart.com and several online retailers have stopped selling Craze in the wake of USA TODAY’s investigation, the product has continued to be sold elsewhere online and in GNC stores. In recent weeks, Driven Sports’ website, which offers Craze for sale, has said the product is out of stock. Detonate is sold by a variety of online retailers.

An attorney for Driven Sports, Marc Ullman, said the company had no comment on the latest findings that the compounds are actually more closely related to methamphetamine.

Cohen said researchers informed the FDA in May about finding the new chemical compound in Craze. The team found that the compound — N,alpha-diethylphenylethylamine — has a structure similar to methamphetamine, a powerful, highly addictive, illegal stimulant drug. They believe the new compound is likely less potent than methamphetamine but greater than ephedrine.

“There are suggestions about how it’s tweaked that it should not be as addictive as meth,” Cohen said. But because it hasn’t been studied, he said, its dangers aren’t known. The team said it began testing Craze in response to several failed urine drug tests by athletes who said they had taken Craze.

Driven Sports has issued repeated statements in recent months that Craze does not contain any amphetamine-like compounds, including posting test results on its website that it says prove the product is clean. In July, a USA TODAY investigation revealed that a top Driven Sports official — Matt Cahill — is a convicted felon who has a history of selling risky dietary supplements, including products with ingredients linked to severe liver injury and at least one death. Cahill is currently facing federal charges in California involving his introduction of another supplement, Rebound XT, to the market in 2008 that contained an estrogen-reducing drug, and this spring a grand jury was also investigating, USA TODAY has reported.

The newspaper’s investigation, which focused on several products sold over the years by Cahill’s changing series of companies, reported that tests by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in June 2012 and a government-affiliated forensic lab in Sweden in April 2013 had detected undisclosed amphetamine-like compounds in samples of Craze.

A month after USA TODAY published its report about Cahill and Craze, a team of South Korean scientists published an article in a journal of the Japanese Association of Forensic Toxicology saying they had found a methamphetamine-like compound in samples of Candy Grape flavor and Berry Lemonade flavor Craze.

The researchers, from the National Forensic Service in South Korea and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands, noted that the compound found in Craze was the same as that found in a crystalline powder seized by narcotics agents in December 2011 as a suspected illicit designer drug. In that case the powder was found in an unclaimed lost package shipped from Vietnam to South Korea, according to an earlier journal article published by the team in late 2012. “It appeared that the recipient of this article sought to abuse this chemical in the same way as amphetamines. There is a possibility that this chemical will be widely abused for recreational use in the near future,” they wrote at the time.

Instead, the same team soon found the compound in Craze.

The researchers noted that the compound had been patented in 1988 by Knoll Pharmaceuticals with claims of psychoactive effects, such as enhancing mental activities and pain tolerance. While it was never developed into a medicine, the patent described tests on animals and suggested an intended oral dose of 10 mg to 150 mg, with a target of 30 mg.

A suggested serving size of Craze yielded a dose of the compound of about 23 mg, the Japanese journal article said, and “it could be assumed that NADEP was added to the supplements intentionally for its pharmacological effects without adequate labeling.” The U.S. research team also found the meth-like substance at levels of 21 mg to 35 mg per serving in each of the samples tested from three separate lots of Craze.

Craze’s label does not disclose the compound found by the researchers. Instead it says the product contains dendrobium orchid extract that was concentrated for different phenylethylamine compounds. Phenylethylamines include a variety of chemicals “that range from benign compounds found in chocolate to synthetically produced illicit drugs,” according to the U.S. researchers.

The U.S. researchers noted that an “extensive” search of scientific literature does not find any evidence that the compound listed on Craze’s label has ever been documented as a component of dendrobium orchid extract. The U.S. research team included Cohen; John Travis, a scientist at NSF International, a Michigan-based testing and standards organization that has a dietary supplement certification program; and Bastiaan Venhuis of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands.

Although not part of the journal article being published today, NSF International announced that in separate testing they also have detected the same methamphetamine-like compound in the weight-loss supplement Detonate sold by Gaspari Nutrition. “Regulators may want to consider taking action to warn consumers,” NSF International said in a statement. Gaspari markets Detonate as containing “dendrobium extract.”

Last year Driven Sports posted a series of blog items on its website alerting customers that counterfeit versions of Craze were being sold. “Could there be counterfeit products, of course,” Cohen said. “Chances are this is more likely an effort by the manufacturer to distract regulators and consumers from what’s really going on here.”

Source: USA Today

Read more at Food Poisoning Bulletin.

We’ve all been told to eat our vegetables, and even if we don’t like it, we know they’re good for us. But a new study shows just how good for our longevity they may be.

Seven or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day can lower your risk of dying by an astonishing 42%, according to a new study published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. The more fruits and vegetables the participants ate, the less likely they were to die at any age, and the protective benefit increased with consumption. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends anywhere between one to two cups of fruit daily and one to three cups of vegetables daily, depending on age and gender. Their slogan follows, “Fruit and veggies — more matters.” Australia advises eating two portions of fruit and five of vegetables, and in the U.K., the slogan is: “5 a day.”

When compared with consuming less than one portion of fruit and vegetables a day, the risk of death by any cause was reduced by 14% by eating one to three portions; 29% for three to five portions; 36% for five to seven portions; and 42% for seven or more. Eating seven or more portions also specifically reduced the risk of dying from cancer by 25%, and heart disease by 31%.

“The clear message here is that the more fruit and vegetables you eat, the less likely you are to die at any age,” lead study author Oyinlola Oyebode, of University College London’s Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, said in a statement. “Vegetables have a larger effect than fruit, but fruit still makes a real difference. If you’re happy to snack on carrots or other vegetables, then that is a great choice, but if you fancy something sweeter, a banana or any fruit will also do you good.”

The study is the first to associate eating fruits and vegetables with all-cause, cancer and heart-disease deaths in a nationally representative population, and to quantify the benefits by portions. Researchers looked at results from the Health Survey for England between 2001 and 2013, which detailed the eating habits of 65,226 people.

Source: Time

As a 10-mile-a-day runner, Dave McGillivray thought he could eat whatever he wanted without worrying about his heart. “I figured if the furnace was hot enough, it would burn everything,” said McGillivray, who is 59.

But a diagnosis six months ago of coronary artery disease shocked McGillivray, a finisher of 130 marathons and several Ironman-distance triathlons. Suddenly he regretted including a chocolate-chip-cookie recipe in his memoir about endurance athletics.

“My first reaction was, I was embarrassed,” he said.

As race director of the Boston Marathon, McGillivray is a high-profile exhibit in a growing medical case against the devil-may-care diets of many marathoners. Their high-mileage habit tends to lower their weight, blood pressure, heart rate and cholesterol levels, leading them (and sometimes their doctors) to assume their cardiac health is robust regardless of diet.

“‘I will run it off’—that attitude clearly prevails among the marathoners themselves, almost sometimes to an arrogance,” said Paul Thompson, a veteran marathoner who is chief of cardiology at Hartford Hospital.

A growing body of research shows the error of that thinking. A study published in the current edition of Missouri Medicine found that 50 men who had run at least one marathon a year for 25 years had higher levels of coronary-artery plaque than a control group of sedentary men. A British Medical Journal study published this year compared the carotid arteries of 42 Boston Marathon qualifiers with their much-less active spouses. “We hypothesized that the runners would have a more favorable atherosclerotic risk profile,” says the article. As it turned out, that hypothesis was wrong.

A small body of research suggests that heart problems may arise not in spite of extreme-endurance exercise but because of it. That has led some cardiologists to theorize that, beyond a certain point, exercise stops preventing and starts causing heart disease.

“Studies support a potential increased risk of coronary artery disease, myocardial fibrosis and sudden cardiac death in marathoners,” Peter McCullough, a Baylor University cardiologist, wrote as lead author of an editorial in the current Missouri Medicine.

But many cardiologists are skeptical. “The science establishing a causal link between vigorous exercise and coronary disease is shaky at best,” said Aaron Baggish, a Massachusetts General Hospital cardiologist who does triathlons and marathons. Even so, he said, “I’ve never once told a patient they need to run marathons or race triathlons to maximize health, as this is not accurate.”

Reports of heart disease in runners are prompting some marathoners to get coronary-artery scans. Ambrose Burfoot, winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon and editor-at-large of Runner’s World magazine, is 67 years old, 6 feet tall and only 147 pounds. A lifelong vegetarian, he subsists mostly on fruits, vegetables and nuts, though he eats “cookies and all dairy products—cheeses, ice creams etc.,” he wrote in an email.

“Last March I learned that I have a very high coronary calcium,” he said. “I have a condition perhaps similar to Dave McGillivray’s.”

The medical profession’s recommendation for such runners depends on which cardiologist they visit. James O’Keefe, a Kansas City cardiologist and ex-triathlete who believes sustained endurance exercise can damage the heart, said he would recommend no more than 20 miles a week at a modest pace.

Thompson and Baggish, however, believe that in many cases endurance athletes diagnosed with heart disease can safely continue doing marathons and triathlons, if their conditions are treated. Thompson argues that risk must be weighed against quality of life, an idea that Burfoot embraces.

“I subscribe to the old saw: ‘Exercise—it might not add years to your life, but it adds life to your years,'” said Burfoot.

But cardiologists are united in their campaign against the old notion that high-calorie workouts confer a free pass to eat anything.

Those who run several hours a day often dream about cookies and ice cream. When McGillivray ran from coast to coast in 1978, he tended to finish each day at a Dairy Queen. “It wasn’t just replacing calories but a mental thing—that vanilla shake was my reward,” he said.

Replacing thousands of calories with purely nutritious foods can be challenging. Since receiving his diagnosis last October—and radically changing his diet—the 5-foot-4 McGillivray has dropped to 128 pounds from 155, an improvement he celebrates.

Far from cutting back his workout regimen, McGillivray has amped it up, boosting his weekly mileage to 70 from about 60. As race director of the Boston Marathon, which is April 21, he plans to continue his tradition of running that course after the last runner has crossed the finish line. And to celebrate turning 60 in August, he plans to complete an Ironman-distance triathlon.

Although McGillivray says that his cardiologist, Baggish, gave him “the green light” for such challenges, Baggish said in an email that, “I do not give patients (Dave included) green or red lights. We engage in an open discussion about known and uncertain risks and benefits and come up with a collective and very individualized plan about what is reasonable.

“In Dave’s case,” he added, “we did just this and he is leaning toward doing the (Ironman) with full knowledge of the fact this his risk is elevated compared to the general field.”

Some critics say that continuing to engage in endurance athletics despite cardiac disease is evidence of addiction. “I’m not afraid to call myself an exercise addict,” said Burfoot. “I have always been afraid of dying on a run. But the way I look at it now, it’s not that running will have killed me. Running has enhanced my life immeasurably, but it could also ‘trigger’ a life-ending event that probably would have happened even sooner except for my running.”

Source: Wall Street Journal

Middle-aged people who eat protein-rich food are four times more likely to die of cancer than someone who only eats a little, according to a new study. The researchers said eating a lot of protein increased the risk of cancer almost as much as smoking 20 cigarettes a day.

They reached their findings, published in the journal Cell: Metabolism, after tracking thousands of people over 20 years. “We provide convincing evidence that a high-protein diet – particularly if the proteins are derived from animals – is nearly as bad as smoking for your health,” one of the academics behind the work, Dr Valter Longo, of the University of Southern California, told The Daily Telegraph.

A high-protein diet was defined as one in which 20 per cent of the calories came from protein. They recommended eating 0.8g of protein per kilogram of body weight a day during middle age.

However, the researchers said protein had benefits during later life. Dr Eileen Crimmins, a co-author of the study, said: “We also propose that at older ages, it may be important to avoid a low-protein diet to allow the maintenance of healthy weight and protection from frailty.”

However Dr Gunter Kuhnle, a food nutrition scientist at the University of Reading, criticised the study for making a link to smoking. “While this study raises some interesting perspectives on links between protein intake and mortality… It is wrong, and potentially even dangerous, to compare the effects of smoking with the effect of meat and cheese,” he said. “The smoker thinks: ‘Why bother quitting smoking if my cheese and ham sandwich is just as bad for me?’”

And Professor Tim Key, of Cancer Research UK, said: “Further research is needed to establish whether there is any link between eating a high protein diet and an increased risk of middle aged people dying from cancer.”

Source: The Independent

Browning meat in the oven, grill or frying pan produces chemicals which may increase the risk of developing dementia, US researchers suggest. Advanced glycation end (AGE) products have been linked to diseases such as type-2 diabetes. Mice fed a high-AGEs diet had a build-up of dangerous proteins in the brain and impaired cognitive function.

Experts said the results were “compelling” but did not provide “definitive answers”. AGEs are formed when proteins or fats react with sugar. This can happen naturally and during the cooking process.

Researchers at the Icahn school of medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York, tested the effect of AGEs on mice and people. The animal experiments, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that a diet rich in AGEs affects the chemistry of the brain. It leads to a build-up of defective beta amyloid protein – a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. The mice eating a low-AGEs diet were able to prevent the production of damaged amyloid.

The mice performed less well in physical and thinking tasks after their AGEs-rich diet. A short-term analysis of people over 60 suggested a link between high levels of AGEs in the blood and cognitive decline.

The study concluded: “We report that age-related dementia may be causally linked to high levels of food advanced glycation end products. Importantly, reduction of food-derived AGEs is feasible and may provide an effective treatment strategy.”

Derek Hill, a professor of medical imaging sciences at University College London, commented: “The results are compelling. Because cures for Alzheimer’s disease remain a distant hope, efforts to prevent it are extremely important, but this study should be seen as encouraging further work, rather than as providing definitive answers.

“But it is grounds for optimism – this paper adds to the body of evidence suggesting that using preventative strategies might reduce the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias in society and that could have very positive impact on us all.”

Dr Simon Ridley, from the charity Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “Diabetes has previously been linked to an increased risk of dementia, and this small study provides some new insight into some of the possible molecular processes that may link the two conditions.It’s important to note that the people in this study did not have dementia. This subject has so far not been well studied in people, and we don’t yet know whether the amount of AGEs in our diet might affect our risk of dementia.”

Source: BBC

Nearly a third of American adults have high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. Often called the “silent killer” because it provides few warning signs, hypertension increases a patient’s risk for heart attack and stroke. New research suggests eating a vegetarian diet could help combat this deadly disease. A healthy blood pressure is 120/80 mm HG. Previous studies have shown that each increase of 20/10 mm Hg in that number doubles the patient’s risk of cardiovascular disease. But lowering that top number just 5 mm HG can reduce your chances of dying from cardiovascular disease by about 7%. And eating more fruits and vegetables may be a good way to do that, according to the new study, published Monday in the scientific journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

In seven clinical trials, participants following a vegetarian diet had a systolic blood pressure that was 4.8 mm Hg lower on average than their omnivore counterparts’. The vegetarians’ diastolic blood pressure was lower by an average of 2.2 mm Hg. In observational studies, the difference was slightly bigger. A vegetarian diet was associated with an average decrease of 6.9 mm Hg for systolic blood pressure and 4.7 mm HG for diastolic blood pressure. Many factors could be affecting the vegetarians’ blood pressure. Vegetarian diets are often lower in sodium and saturated fats, while being higher in fiber and potassium.

Vegetarians also tend to have lower body mass indexes because fruits and vegetables are less energy dense – meaning you can eat more of them for fewer calories. The definition of a “vegetarian diet” differs from person to person, so the researchers can’t tell you how much meat is too much. Some of the observational studies also did not adjust for lifestyle factors such as exercise or alcohol intake that could have affected the results. Eating more fruits and vegetables as part of an overall healthy diet could help lower your blood pressure, says study author Dr. Neal Barnard. You should also try to limit your sodium intake, exercise regularly and avoid drinking alcohol excessively.

Source: CNN

Last week the Maryland State Public Health Laboratory identified Listeria preliminarily determined to be Listeria monocytogenes from retail cheeses produced by Roos Foods out of Kenton, Delaware. Roos Foods produces Latin-style cheeses under several product labels (Santa Rosa de Lima, Amigo, Mexicana, Suyapa, La Chapina, La Purisima, Crema Nica) and distributes its products to VA, MD and DC. Food safety inspectors from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services have also reported the presence of this bacterium in a sample of cheese collected from a Virginia retail location. As a measure of precaution District food safety officials are pulling the products from shelves at retail locations.

As of February 21, 2014, no cases of Listeria associated with this cheese have been reported to the DC Department of Health, but we would like clinicians to be aware of this potential health risk. Listeriosis associated with contaminated food can cause a wide spectrum of clinical symptoms ranging from febrile gastroenteritis to potentially fatal bacteremia and meningitis in higher risk groups such as older adults and persons with certain medical conditions1. Pregnant women infected with this bacterium frequently experience a mild influenza-like illness or an asymptomatic infection1. Pregnancy-associated listeriosis can result in fetal loss, preterm delivery, invasive neonatal infection, and infant death1. Anyone who purchased the product should be advised not consume it and to discard any remaining portions.

Listeriosis is a reportable disease in DC. Healthcare providers are required to report cases of Listeriosis to the DC Department of Health, Division of Epidemiology– Disease Surveillance and Investigation (DE-DSI) by fax at (202) 442-8060. If you have any questions, please contact us at (202) 442-8141.

                                   Some Listeria facts:

Listeria can be found in:

• Ready-to-eat deli meats and hot dogs
• Refrigerated pates or meat spreads
• Unpasteurized (raw) milk and dairy products
• Soft cheese made with unpasteurized milk, such as queso fresca, brie, feta, camembert
• Refrigerated smoked seafood
• Raw sprouts

Incubation period: 3-70 days

Symptoms: Fever, stiff neck, confusion, weakness, vomiting, sometimes preceded by diarrhea

Duration of illness: Days to weeks

Who’s at risk:

• Pregnant women
• Older adults
• People with weakened immune systems
• Organ transplant patients who are taking drugs to prevent them from rejecting the organ
• People with certain diseases such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, end-stage renal disease, liver disease, alcoholism, diabetes

Read more at NBC News.

 

 

Worldwide prevalence of dementia is expected to reach 65.7 million and 115.4 million in 2030 and 2050, respectively. Currently, there is no effective therapy to delay the onset or halt the progression of dementia, a growing public health problem with priority for research. The potential protection on cognition has been examined for some nutrients such as fatty acids, vitamins, fish, fruit and vegetables but observational and experimental studies have provided inconsistent results. Defining the effect of diet on health by the overall dietary pattern instead of a single or a few nutrients allows to study the synergy among nutrients and avoids problems due to confounding, multiple testing and collinearity among them. The Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) is characterized by the use of olive oil as the main culinary fat and high consumption of plant-based foods (fruits and nuts, vegetables, legumes and minimally processed cereals). It also includes moderate-to-high consumption of fish and seafood and low consumption of butter or other dairy products and meat or meat products. Regular but moderate intake of alcohol, preferentially red wine during meals, is customary. An intervention with MedDiets enhanced with either EVOO or nuts appears to improve cognition compared with a low-fat diet. (Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry)

Read more here.

A new study links consumption of more sugary foods with a higher risk of death from heart disease. The assessment is the latest addition to a growing body of evidence that “too much sugar does not just make us fat, it can also make us sick,” according to health policy professor Laura Schmidt at the University of California, San Francisco.

Schmidt wrote a commentary accompanying the new study in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. The study focuses on sugar added to foods as opposed to those occurring naturally in fruits and vegetables.

Those who ate the most added sugar – making up more than one-fifth of their daily calories – were twice as likely to die from heart disease as those who ate a healthy diet with less than 10 percent added sugar. Soda, energy drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages were the biggest sources.

One can of soda contains about 140 calories, or about 7 percent of an average, 2,000-calorie diet. The researchers used data from a large, ongoing national study on all kinds of health issues.  Thousands of people across the country answer questions about their diet and other health behaviors and get a physical.  The researchers also check to see if participants show up in national death records.

While other studies have looked at the link between added sugar and obesity, diabetes, heart disease and more, “this paper is the first to look at death from heart disease,” said nutrition professor Rachel Johnson at the University of Vermont, “so, sort of the ultimate end point.” Johnson heads the nutrition committee for the American Heart Association but was not involved with this research.

“Most of us consume much more [added sugar] than healthy diets recommend,” said study co-author Quanhe Yang, an epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study found the average American consumed about 15 percent of the day’s calories as added sugar.

“Compared with people in the lowest consumption group, you have roughly a 30 percent increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease,” Yang said. Add one can of soda a day, however, and the risk goes way up.

“If you just [drank] one can of sugar sweetened beverage, you may put yourself into another category, which is doubling your risk of cardiovascular mortality,” he added.

New York City is trying to limit the size of sodas, but is fighting a legal challenge.  Mexico has recently imposed a tax on soda and other sugary foods.  Johnson said state and local governments in the United States also are considering taxes as a way to discourage consumption.

“I think we’re going to continue to see a lot of policy initiatives around how do we make the healthy choice the easy choice for people,” she added.

Many of these initiatives face opposition from those who see them as restricting individual freedom.

Source: Voice of America