Sugars in Liquid Form Significantly Increase Diabetes Risk
Solid Sugars Show Little to No Association
While sugar is often identified as the main culprit behind type 2 diabetes, a new study has found that not all sugars carry the same risk. In particular, sugars consumed in liquid form?such as those found in soft drinks and fruit juices?significantly increase the risk of diabetes, whereas other types of sugar show little to no association.
This conclusion comes from a meta-analysis conducted by researchers from Brigham Young University (BYU) in the United States, as well as the University of Freiburg and the University of Paderborn in Germany. The analysis reviewed studies involving more than 500,000 people across Asia, Europe, the United States, South America, and Australia.
Karen Della Corte, a professor in the Department of Nutrition Science at BYU who led the study, stated in a press release on the 29th, "This is the first analysis to clarify the dose-response relationship between various sources of sugar and the risk of type 2 diabetes," adding, "The findings especially show that consuming sugar in beverage form can have a more negative impact on health."
The researchers, who published their findings in the international journal Advances in Nutrition, adjusted for several lifestyle risk factors such as body mass index (BMI), excessive calorie intake, alcohol consumption, and physical activity. They then identified the following dose-response relationships for different forms of sugar:
For sugar-sweetened beverages?including soft drinks, energy drinks, and sports drinks?each additional 350 mL consumed per day increased the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 25%. There was no safe baseline for consumption; the risk began to rise from the very first sip. For fruit juice (including 100% fruit juice), each additional 240 mL consumed per day increased the risk by 5%.
It is important to note that these risk levels are relative, not absolute. For example, if the average person's baseline risk of developing type 2 diabetes is 10%, drinking four servings of soft drinks per day would not increase the risk to 100%, but rather double it to 20%.
Consuming less than 20 grams per day of sugars that are not in liquid form?including natural sugars?was actually found to decrease the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The World Health Organization's recommended daily sugar intake is 25 grams.
According to the research team, the reason why drinking sugar in liquid form can be more problematic than consuming it in solid form lies in the difference in metabolic effects. Liquid sugars added to beverages or fruit juices are monosaccharides (glucose, fructose) or disaccharides (sucrose). These have simple molecular structures?either single molecules or short chains?which means they are digested quickly and rapidly raise blood sugar levels. This increases the burden on the liver, disrupts metabolism, leads to increased fat accumulation in the liver, and raises insulin resistance.
In contrast, sugars that are included in or added to nutrient-dense foods such as whole fruits, dairy products, and whole grains do not cause metabolic overload in the liver. Because these sugars are consumed along with dietary fiber, fats, proteins, and other beneficial nutrients, the blood sugar response is slower.
Even though fruit juice contains some vitamins and nutrients, its health benefits are much lower. The researchers warned that fruit juice, due to its high concentration of sugars, is not a suitable substitute for whole fruits, which provide much more fiber to help regulate blood sugar.
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