DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — A new study shows there are at least 45 good reasons to stop eating added sugar.

Research has shown that excessive sugar consumption has negative health effects, and it is recommended that consumption of “free” or added sugars be less than 10% of a person’s daily caloric intake.

According to the study, published Wednesday in the BMJ, researchers in China and the United States felt that “the quality of existing evidence should be comprehensively assessed” before developing comprehensive sugar control policies.

In a large review of 73 meta-analyses including 8,601 studies, excessive sugar consumption was associated with an increased risk of 45 negative health outcomes, including diabetes, arthritis, obesity, high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke, cancer, and asthma. Tooth decay, and depression. , and early death.

According to the FDA, added sugars, the type of sugar the authors focused on, are added during the processing of foods. It may be packaged as table sugar and other sweeteners or found naturally in syrups, honey, fruit juice, vegetable juice, pastries and similar products where the cellular structure of the food has been broken down. Dairy products, or structurally, naturally occurring sugars in fruits and vegetables are not included in this category.

Director of Health Media Innovation and Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine, Dr. Maya Adam, who was not involved in the study, said, “This research provides a useful overview of sugar consumption and the current state of science. Our health…confirms that excessive sugar consumption is likely to cause health problems.”

“Studies like these are useful for counseling patients that small changes, such as cutting back on excess sugar in sweetened beverages, may help.” With sugar, a significant and positive improvement can be reflected in health.

Moderate-quality evidence that participants who drank more sugar-sweetened beverages were heavier than those who drank less.

“As a nutrition researcher who served on both advisory committees for the 2010 and 2020 U.S. Dietary Guidelines, I can confirm that dietary sugar intake in the United States is twice the recommended amount (less than 10% of total daily caloric intake) and that although the direct effect of sugar is minimal, If it has any nutritional benefits, it displaces the nutritionally beneficial foods.

The link between diabetes and disease

Evidence for a link between added sugar and cancer is limited and controversial, and more research is needed, the study authors said. But the study’s results may be explained by the well-known effects of sugar on weight: high sugar consumption is linked to obesity, which is a strong risk factor for many types of cancer. This also applies to diseases of the heart and blood vessels.

Brooke Agarwal, a behavioral scientist and assistant professor of clinical sciences in the Department of Cardiology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, who was not involved in the study, told CNN in February that “added sugar causes inflammation in the body. It puts stress on the heart and blood vessels, which can lead to high blood pressure.”

Researchers have found that processed foods, which contain a lot of sugar, increase inflammation, which is a risk factor for depression.

And Adam noted in February that “whole food carbohydrates take a long time to break down into simple sugars, and the fiber that’s part of them can’t be broken down,” and that “healthy whole grains don’t cause the same mutations . . .” “In blood sugar we feel when we eat simple sugars. High blood sugar leads to insulin spikes, which disrupt blood glucose, which is a major cause of long-term health problems.”

Reduce sugar consumption

The study’s findings are in line with current guidelines from the World Health Organization, the World Cancer Research Fund, and the American Institute for Cancer Research, which recommend that people limit their sugar intake to 25 grams, or the equivalent of 6 teaspoons, per day. That’s about as much sugar as two and a half cookies with chocolate chips, 16 ounces of fruit, and a tablespoon of honey. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the cake contains between 15 and 30 grams of sugar.

The authors recommended that consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages be limited to less than one serving per week (between 200 and 355 milliliters). That’s the equivalent of about 12 ounces of soda, Agarwal said.

To change sugar consumption patterns, the authors believe, “a combination of widespread public health education and policy is urgently needed worldwide.”