News & Press

April 2013

Evidence shows no effect of sugar on risk factors for heart disease

In the review, published in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, the authors, led by Sigrid Gibson, systematically reviewed 25 studies where sucrose had been exchanged for other caloric nutrients in the diet of healthy adults. Gibson and her team concluded that no adverse effects on cardiovascular risk factors, including blood lipids, glucose and insulin levels, were apparent when sucrose replaced starchy foods at levels of up to 25% of energy intake. Due to the scarcity of published studies, firm conclusions could not be made when sucrose was substituted for other components of the diet, such as fat, or when consumed at levels greater than 25% of energy intake.

Gibson states that “it is important to put the conclusions of this study into context. National dietary surveys typically report much lower average intakes of sucrose, for example in the UK, the average intake of sucrose for adults is approximately 8% of food energy¹.”

Recent dietary guidelines for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease have proposed reducing saturated fat with replacement by other caloric nutrients including carbohydrates. However, the nature of this replacement carbohydrate has been questioned, with suggestions that refined carbohydrate, which includes sucrose (table sugar), may not be beneficial in terms of cardiovascular risk². This systematic review of studies found that in normal healthy people, risk factors for heart disease were not adversely affected when starchy foods were replaced with an equal amount of energy from sucrose.

References

1. Gibson et al., The effects of sucrose on metabolic health: a systematic review of human intervention studies in healthy adults. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 2013; 53:6, 591-614. Available for free via open access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2012.691574
2. Astrup et al., The role of reducing intake of saturated fat in the prevention of cardiovascular disease: where does the evidence stand in 2010? Am J Clin Nutr 2011;93: 634-8

Information for Editors

Sigrid Gibson is Director of Sig-Nurture Ltd, an independent nutrition research consultancy to industry, government and non-profit organisations.

This study followed ILSI guidelines relating to financial conflicts and scientific integrity (Department of Health, 1991). It was funded by the World Sugar Research Organisation.