Everyone loves their sweets. But this doesn’t mean it’s all right to indulge your sweet tooth every time. Eating a lot of sugary snacks and drinks is actually one of the worst things you can do to your body, since it poses many potential health risks like obesity, Type 2 diabetes and cancer.

It’s worth noting that sugar isn’t necessarily bad, depending on where you get it from. For example, some sugars — especially those that naturally occur in fruits and other foods — can provide the body with enough nutrients it needs to last a day, while other types like added sugars can have adverse effects on your health. That said, cutting back on the latter is one of the most important steps you can take to improve your overall health.

In fact, recent research suggests that those experiencing heart problems should start cutting down sugar intake lest they want to face dangerous consequences. This finding, reported by a research team from the University of Copenhagen, further explained the connection between blood sugar levels and heart rate regulation.

Sweet temptations can ruin hearts

Long QT syndrome, or LQTS, is a disorder of the heart’s electrical activity. This causes sudden and uncontrollable arrhythmias in response to exercise or stress. According to the researchers, one out of every 2,000 people suffers from this disorder, which could eventually lead to heart failure if left untreated.

When healthy individuals eat sugary foods or drink sugary beverages, the pancreas starts producing insulin — the hormone responsible for lowering blood sugar to a stable level. In a previous study, the same research team showed that insulin production in the pancreas is regulated by potassium channels. When these channels stop working, particularly in patients suffering from LQTS, it causes an excessive amount of insulin to be produced and the blood sugar to drop to dangerously low levels.

For the current study, the researchers showed the potassium channel called HERG is also connected to two other hormones, namely Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and Gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP). These hormones overreact and signal the body to start producing more insulin.

“When a healthy individual experiences low blood sugar levels, the hormone glucagon reacts by signaling to the body to release more sugar into the blood. But the glucagon level in people suffering from LQTS is too low,” said corresponding author Signe Torekov. “This means that not only does the patient’s insulin level increase to twice the amount seen in healthy individuals, but the hormone responsible for raising the blood sugar from a dangerously low level is also equally impaired”

The research revealed a previously unknown connection between heart rate regulation and blood sugar. The researchers warn that those who suffer from LQTS should be careful about their sugar consumption. According to Torekov, a medium-sized soft drink is enough to cause your blood sugar levels to drop dangerously low, further increasing the QT interval. At worst, eating excessive sugar can lead to disordered cardiac rhythm and even heart failure.

How can you reduce sugar intake?

Regardless of whether you have LQTS or not, reducing overall sugar intake can drastically improve your health. Below you can find a few easy-to-remember tips that can help you reduce how much sugar you eat.

1. Give up sugary drinks. Some people can give up sweets like chocolate and doughnuts but absolutely refuse to give up the luxury of drinking diet cola. Despite not having actual sugar, diet soda is chockful of artificial sweeteners and food additives that make it extremely unhealthy despite the “diet” tag.
2. Eat whole foods. Whole foods are those that have not been processed or refined in any way. These foods are also often free of additives and artificial flavorings that can contain sugar and other unhealthy substances
3. Start reading the labels. You can avoid all the sugary food and drinks in the world but some sugars can be found in some unlikely sources, like dried fruit and granola bars. Food companies like to use different names for added sugar to confuse consumers so it’s best to keep an eye out for those names in the labels to help reduce sugar intake.
4. Get enough sleep. Getting a good night’s sleep is not only vital to overall good health, but it can also help you reduce your sugar intake. A study published in the journal, Obesity found that people with poor sleeping habits consumed much more calories, junk foods and soda compared to those who slept earlier and got a full night’s sleep.

Excessive sugar consumption can be incredibly harmful to your overall health. By adopting healthier lifestyle changes and eating foods packed with a variety of nutrients, you could reduce your risk of developing deadly cardiovascular conditions.

Sources:

HealthSciences.ku.dk

AHAJournals.org

NHLBI.NIH.gov

MindBodyGreen.com

Healthline.com 1

Healthline.com 2

Healthline.com 3