When you genuinely want to do the right thing, your first thought may be to reduce your intake of salt and unhealthy fats. But have you ever thought about reducing your sugar intake?

Dr. Clayton Kruger, a board-certified family medicine physician at Texas A&M Health Family Care in Bryan and a clinical assistant professor at Texas A&M University School of Medicine, says that excessive amounts of refined sugar can have negative effects on heart health. It states that there is.

“A diet high in sugar increases the amount of inflammation in the body,” he said. “High levels of inflammation can damage blood vessels – blood vessels in the eyes, kidneys and heart. That’s the main concern with a high sugar diet.”

Chronic inflammation increases your risk of developing heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. Over time, cardiovascular inflammation can cause blood clots, or blood clots, to form, preventing oxygen and nutrients from reaching parts of the heart and causing a heart attack. A blood clot in the brain can cause a stroke.

Systemic inflammation is also associated with heart failure, which occurs when the heart cannot pump enough blood to the body’s needs. “Unfortunately, heart failure is actually on the rise in the United States and is one of the leading causes of death and disability in this country,” Krueger said.

Too much sugar can also lead to type 2 diabetes, a chronic disease characterized by weight gain, obesity, and high blood sugar levels. Type 2 diabetes can lead to many complications, including heart attacks, strokes, nerve damage, kidney failure, vision and hearing loss, and amputations.

natural sugar and refined sugar

Not all sugars are created equal. Natural sugars found in foods such as fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and grains are part of a balanced diet. These natural sugars are complex molecules that take longer for the body to process and do not raise blood sugar levels as much as refined sugars. The American Heart Association recommends consuming 2 servings of fruit, 2.5 servings of vegetables, 3 servings of dairy products, and 6 servings of grains per day, based on a 2,000 calorie per day diet.

The most harmful type of sugar is refined, which starts from natural sources such as sugar cane, beets, and corn and is processed down to simple molecules through manufacturing.

“The problem with these simple sugars is that they’re highly addictive because your body reacts quickly and they can increase dopamine levels in the brain,” Krueger says. “So when you drink sugar, you get a natural high. So if you eat something like a candy bar or drink a soda, drinking sugar makes you feel good.”

How much sugar is too much?

The American Heart Association recommends that men consume no more than 9 teaspoons of sugar per day and women no more than 6 teaspoons per day. Unfortunately, Americans’ diets tend to include too much refined sugar. Just 12 ounces of soda contains more than the recommended daily amount of about 8 teaspoons.

“It’s quite shocking that the amount of sugar we should be consuming per day is this low,” Krueger said.

Refined sugar is found in many common American foods, including breakfast cereals, barbecue sauce, condiments such as ketchup and mayonnaise, salad dressings, coffee creamers, granola bars, and many snacks, and can be consumed in excess. It’s getting easier.

How to reduce sugar intake

By cutting out just a few types of foods, you can significantly reduce the amount of sugar you consume each day. Krueger recommends starting with what you drink.

“We’ve seen that a lot of people drink soda, and most people get their daily sugar intake from soda. They either change from regular soda to diet soda, or they drink water, “Try to find ways to switch to healthier options like coffee, tea, etc.,” he said.

But Krueger says coffee and tea can contain many unhealthy additives, so she recommends drinking them black or using limited natural sweeteners like honey or agave. Warn if there is. Aspartame, an artificial sweetener used in products such as Diet Coke, was recently added to the World Health Organization’s list of potential carcinogens, so it’s important to limit your intake of aspartame or avoid it completely. .

Some juices contain sugar. In fact, 8 ounces of Welch’s Grape Juice contains 35 grams, or about 8 teaspoons, of sugar, the same amount as regular soda.

“Many people think that it’s very healthy to juice a lot of fruits and vegetables and drink it. You can get some of the nutrients from it, but unfortunately, you can’t actually juice a lot of fruits and vegetables. “You lose a lot of the health benefits of eating whole foods because you lose a lot of the fiber,” Krueger said.

When drinking juice, Krueger recommends buying 100 percent fruit juice and avoiding anything labeled “concentrate,” as it has minimal fruit content and high sugar content. doing.

Changing your breakfast cereal is another way to reduce your sugar intake. Many cereals, even those labeled “natural” or “healthy,” contain large amounts of sugar. For example, one serving of Kellogg’s Frosted Mini Wheats contains 12 grams, or about 3 teaspoons, of sugar, which is more than a Glazed Donut.

Other ways to care for your heart

“Reducing your sugar intake is one of the best things you can do for your health,” Krueger says. Limiting the amount of sugar in your diet can lower inflammatory markers and reduce the damage caused by inflammation. Krueger said he has seen patients with treatment-resistant diabetes successfully manage their symptoms to the point where they no longer need medication after trying to reduce their sugar intake.

Limiting your sugar intake is just part of keeping your heart and the rest of your body and mind healthy. Krueger says the cornerstones of heart health are regular physical activity, minimizing alcohol consumption, reducing salt intake and not smoking.

“The body is truly incredible. It can heal itself in amazing ways. You just have to let it do what it’s supposed to do. And there are many substances that are causing further damage. must be removed,” Krueger said.