Sugary Drinks Or Sweet Treats: Study Unveils Which Are More Damaging To Your Bones And Health

Excessive sugar consumption has been consistently linked with a variety of negative health outcomes, including obesity and diabetes.

New research from Swedish scientists has shown how different sources of sugar have different impacts on the cardiovascular system. Their study with nearly 70,000 Swedish participants found marked differences between eating sweet treats and drinking sugary beverages.

We will examine the methods and results of this study so that you can apply its findings to your dietary choices. Then, you'll learn how the sugar consumption habits analyzed by this study can impact your bone health.

A Study On Sugar Consumption And Cardiovascular Health

The study, published in December 2024, analyzed diet and health data from 69,705 Swedish participants aged 45 to 83. Researchers used questionnaires to gather information about participants' diets and lifestyles. Data was collected at the beginning of the study in 1997 and again at its conclusion in 2009.

The questionnaires gathered data about participants' consumption of foods of three categories:

• Sugar-sweetened drinks, including all sweetened sodas and fruit drinks with added sugar but excluding 100% fruit juices
• Treats like pastries, ice cream, chocolate, and candies
• Toppings such as table sugar, honey, jellies, and jams

Medical records established participants' incidence of seven cardiovascular health events: two different types of stroke (ischemic and hemorrhagic), heart attacks, heart failure, aortic aneurysms, atrial fibrillation, and aortic stenosis. During the study period, 25,739 participants were diagnosed with one of these cardiovascular events.

The researchers compared the incidence of these cardiovascular health issues with each participant's consumption of items in the three sugary-item categories.

Synopsis

Researchers compared 69,705 Swedish participants' consumption of three sugary food categories– sugar-sweetened drinks, treats, and toppings– to their incidence of seven cardiovascular health events, including heart attacks, aneurysms, and strokes.

Sugary Drinks Pose Outsized Risks To Heart Health

The researchers found a correlation between consuming added sugars from any source and an increased incidence of ischemic stroke and abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Among the individual food categories, sugary beverages proved uniquely harmful. The study found that greater consumption of sugary beverages correlated with a higher incidence of four of the cardiac events they tracked.

The results associated drinking more than eight servings of sugar-sweetened beverages per week with:

• 11% higher risk of atrial fibrillation
• 18% higher risk of heart failure
• 19% higher risk of ischemic stroke
• 31% higher risk of abdominal aortic aneurysm

The researchers suggested that because liquids create less feelings of fullness, sugary drink consumption may lead to overconsumption.

The category of sweet treats showed a very different pattern. Participants with lowest intake of sugary treats exhibited the highest risks of cardiovascular events. Occasional treat consumption was associated with better outcomes than no treats. Similarly, consuming more sugary toppings was associated with reduced rates of heart failure and aortic stenosis.

The researchers advised caution when interpreting this unexpected outcome, as the results likely point to a behavior that is linked to treat consumption, rather than the treats themselves.

They speculated that individuals consuming very little sugar might be limiting sugar due to pre-existing health conditions that caused the cardiac events. Those who enjoyed treats may have been doing so in the context of social events. Sweden has a cultural practice called “fika” , where people gather with friends and colleagues for pastries and coffee, an activity often enjoyed by healthy, socially active individuals. The community connection and interaction fostered by this practice may have positive effects on overall health.

The study's clearest result underscores the dangers of sugary beverages, which were linked to serious cardiac events. The cardiovascular impacts of sugar consumption are only one facet of sugar's effect on health. Excess sugar consumption has additional negative results, including for bone.

Synopsis

Participants who consumed eight or more sugary beverages per week were substantially more likely to experience atrial fibrillation, heart failure, ischemic stroke, or abdominal aortic aneurysm. Overall dietary levels of sugar were also linked to cardiovascular events, underscoring the dangers of excessive sugar consumption, and sugary drinks in particular.

How Sugar Degrades Bone

While Bone health isn't the first concern typically associated with sugar consumption, for Savers, it may be the most important.

Sugar is acidifying, so the more you eat the more difficult it becomes to achieve an 80/20 balance of alkalizing to acidifying foods. This leads to acidification and bone loss.

Additionally, added sugars add nothing of nutritional value to foods, making them the purest form of “empty calories.” That's a part of why sugar consumption is linked to obesity.

Additionally, excessive sugar consumption increases urinary calcium excretion. It spurs the loss of bone-building minerals. The same is true of Foundation Supplements copper and magnesium. All three minerals are essential for strong bones, and each is impeded by sugar.

Sugar also increases cortisol levels. Cortisol, the stress hormone, inhibits the bone remodeling process, weakening bones.

This doesn't mean you have to avoid sweet treats altogether. There are many ways to enjoy the foods you love — even the sweet ones! — without overloading on added sugars.

• Consider using honey as a sweetener — It’s alkalizing, flavorful, and contains nutrients. It should still be used in moderation– honey falls into the study's “toppings” category and contributes to overall sugar intake.
• Substitute stevia or monk fruit sweetener for sugar. Both monk fruit and stevia are plant-derived sweeteners and great-tasting healthy sugar substitutes.
• Use recipes that call for naturally sweet foods and alternative sweeteners to satisfy your palate while protecting your bones.
• Try making your own flavorful sugar-free sodas by making fruit syrups at home with stevia, then mixing them with seltzer.

Synopsis

Sugar degrades bone through acidification, increasing the excretion of calcium, and raising cortisol levels. However, you can make sweet treats and even homemade sodas without sugar! Try the suggestions listed above.

What This Means To You

Sugar is bad for your heart and bad for your bones. Sugary drinks are especially harmful, increasing the risk of the seven cardiac events tracked in today's study — as well as a long list of other conditions.

Learning to prepare bone-healthy versions of your favorite meals, snacks, and makes reducing sugar intake simple and enjoyable. Bone Appétit is the perfect way to learn. It offers hundreds of recipes that are full of bone-building whole ingredients. Whether you're an experienced chef or a novice in the kitchen, Bone Appétit makes it easy to eat your way to stronger bones.

References

¹ https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1452085/full