Sunday July 19, 2015 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new trial published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition confirmed that intake of high fructose corn syrup indeed increases the risk of cardiovascular mortality.  Epidemiological studies have already found elevated risk of cardiovascular disease associated with consumption of added sugar and high fructose corn syrup in processed foods and beverages.

The trial was intended to determine the effects of drinking beverages sweetened with high fructose corn syrup in an amount of 0%, 10%, 17.5%, and 25% total daily calories on serum lipid/lipiprotein risk factors for cardiovascular disease and uric acid in adults aged 18 to 40 years with body mass index between 18 and 35 kg/m2.Researchers found consuming beverages with any amount of high fructose corn syrup significantly increased the lipid/lipiprotein risk factors for cardiovascular disease and uric acid in a linear dose-response manner.  Specifically, high fructose corn syrup in all three doses increased postprandial triglyceride, fasting LDL cholesterol, and uric acid.  Beverages with 17.5% and 25% total energy from high fructose corn syrup increased "fasting and/or postprandial concentrations of non–HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, apolipoprotein CIII, and uric acid," compared to beverages with 0% high fructose corn syrup. The study concluded "These results provide mechanistic support for the epidemiologic evidence that the risk of cardiovascular mortality is positively associated with consumption of increasing amounts of added sugars."The trial was conducted by Kimber L Stanhope from School of Veterinary Medicine University of California in Davis, CA and colleagues at the University of California Davis Clinical and Translational Science Center’s Clinical Research Center. Kimber L Stanhope, Valentina Medici, Andrew A Bremer, Vivien Lee, Hazel D Lam, Marinelle V Nunez, Guoxia X Chen, Nancy L Keim, and Peter J Havel, A dose-response study of consuming high-fructose corn syrup–sweetened beverages on lipid/lipoprotein risk factors for cardiovascular disease in young adults, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2015Updated on July 23, 2015 

Added sugar intake linked to cardiovascular risk

Kimber L. Stanhope at UC David and colleagues actually discovered the association of added sugar consumption with increased risk for cardiovascular disease earlier and published their study in 2011 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

This early study found that consumption of fructose and high fructose corn syrup in a dose equivalent to 25% of total energy was associated with increased concentrations of circulating triglyceride (blood fat),  low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and apolipoprotein-B in young men and women.  These are biomarkers for cardiovascular disease.   The "adverse effects" of added sugar showed up during a 12-day intervention.Consumption of added sugar in an amount of 25% total daily energy seems to be high.  But the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended a maximal added sugar intake of 25% or less of total energy, according to the study report.  In contrast, the American Heart Association Nutrition Committee recommends men and women should not eat more than 150 and 100 cal of added sugar per day, respectively.  According to a report posted on forbes.com,  the American diet contains 125 grams or 25 teaspoons of added sugar equivalent to  500 calories per day.The latest study conducted by Stanhope et al. suggests that the effect of added sugar on the cardiovascular disease is dose-responsive.  Added sugar in the study referred to sucrose and high fructose corn syrup.Interestingly, the researchers found glucose in the same dose did not alter the lipid profile indicating that glucose does not raise cardiovascular disease.  Glucose as a sweetener is rarely used in processed foods because for one thing, it does not taste as sweet as fructose or high fructose corn syrup.According to the Forbes report, added sugar has been linked to a wide range of health conditions including obesity, nervous tension, diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, aching limbs, hypoglycemia, acne, depression, stiffness of arteries, fatigue, headaches, and skin irritation.  Sugar is as addictive as cocaine.Kimber L. Stanhope, Andrew A. Bremer, Valentina Medici, Katsuyuki Nakajima, Yasuki Ito, Takamitsu Nakano, Guoxia Chen, Tak Hou Fong, Vivien Lee, Roseanne I. Menorca, Nancy L. Keim, and Peter J. Havel, Consumption of Fructose and High Fructose Corn Syrup Increase Postprandial Triglycerides, LDL-Cholesterol, and Apolipoprotein-B in Young Men and Women,  The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, First Published Online: August 17, 2011

Another study: added sugar linked to higher risk for incident cardiovascular disease

Another study led by scientists at Lund University in Malmö, Sweden also suggests that eating too much added sugar/sweets may increase risk of incident ischemic cardiovascular disease.

The study finds that those who had higher intake of foods/beverages rich in added sugar (sugar and sweets, and sugar-sweetened beverages) had higher concentrations of triglyceride and lower concentrations of HDL cholesterol.  The sugar-triglyceride link was stronger in participants who were genetically at low risk for triglyceride.The study also finds that study participants in the highest quintile of intake of whole grain were at 13% reduced risk for incident cardiovascular disease, compared with those in the lowest quintile of whole grain intake. That is, eating whole grain foods may reduce the cardiovascular risk. (David Liu)Sonestedt E, Hellstrand S, Schulz CA, Wallström P, Drake I, Ericson U, Gullberg B, Hedblad B, Orho-Melander M. The association between carbohydrate-rich foods and risk of cardiovascular disease is not modified by genetic susceptibility to dyslipidemia as determined by 80 validated variants.  PLoS One. 2015 Apr 21;10(4):e0126104.