Beverages sweetened with fructose or high-fructose corn syrup can worsen cardiovascular risk factors, even in the young and healthy, researchers have found. When these types of drinks accounted for at least a quarter of a person’s daily calories over two weeks, there were significant increases in triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B (apoB) concentrations that weren’t seen with glucose, Kimber Stanhope, PhD, of the University of California Davis, and colleagues reported online in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. That finding may have implications for current U.S. dietary guidelines, which suggest limiting added sugar intake to 25% of total energy per day, the researchers said, noting that the American Heart Association recommends an even smaller cap on added sugars at just 5% of daily energy.
