MANY sugar-sweetened beverages have little to no nutritional value and lots of calories, and their harmful health effects have been well-documented. Now, a study links drinking too many sugary beverages — and even 100-percent natural fruit juices — to an increased risk of early death.

Specifically, drinking an excessive amount of fruit juice could lead to an increased risk of premature death ranging from 9 percent to 42 percent, according to the study, published last week in the journal JAMA Network Open.

Overall, the sugars found in orange juice, although naturally occurring, are pretty similar to the sugars added to soda and other sweetened beverages, the study suggests.

“Sugary beverages, whether soft drinks or fruit juices, should be limited,” said Jean A. Welsh, a co-author of the study and an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Emory University in Atlanta, the U.S.

So how does fruit juice stack up against soda?

“Previous research has shown that high consumption of sugars like those in soft drinks and fruit juices is linked to several cardiovascular disease risk factors,” Welsh explained. Obesity, diabetes and elevated triglycerides (a type of fat found in the blood) are among the risk factors linked to excessive sugar intake. “Few studies have been able to look at how this consumption might impact mortality risk,” she said.

To address this issue, she and her colleagues repurposed data from the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke study, which seeks to understand why more African-Americans die from strokes than other races and why people in the southeast have more strokes than those in other areas of the United States.

Drawing from this multiethnic study, Welsh and her co-authors analyzed data from 13,440 adults 45 and older.

People who consumed 10 percent or more of their daily calories as sugary beverages had a 44 percent greater risk of dying due to coronary heart disease and a 14 percent greater risk of an early death from any cause compared with people who consumed less than 5 percent of their daily calories as sugary beverages, the study showed.

Welsh was not surprised by the the findings. She and her co-authors said “a number of possible biological mechanisms” explain the elevated risk of death. For example, research suggests that sugary beverages increase insulin resistance, which is known to raise the risk of cardiovascular disease, while fructose consumption may stimulate hormones that promote weight gain around the waist — another cardiovascular disease risk factor.

Although fruit juices may not be as deleterious as sugar-sweetened beverages, their consumption should be moderated in children and adults, especially for individuals who wish to control their body weight.

The recommendations for kids between 1 and 6 years old are to limit fruit juice consumption to 180ml per day, while children 7 years and older, teens and adults should limit fruit juice to 236 ounces per day, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Welsh said we need to consider both fruit juices and sugar-sweetened beverages when we think about how much sugar we consume each day. Between the two, she tipped the scales in favor of fruit juice, “Given its vitamin and mineral content, fruit juice in small amounts may have a beneficial effect that isn’t seen with sodas and other sugar-sweetened beverages.”

(SD-Agencies)