I hope not in the sense that you heartily abuse refined sugars. They cause TOIL in our cells: Toxicity, Inflammation, Oxidation and Less than optimal Mitochondrial function. TOIL is more pronounced in the cells of vital organs like the brain, heart and kidneys. The processed food industry has convinced most consumers that artificial sweeteners are a healthy alternative. Not so. Most people become addicted to both refined sugars and artificial sweeteners, especially when exposed to unrelenting stress. The COVID pandemic drove most people to increase their intake of those products as a way to mitigate loneliness and isolation. Their hearts have been significantly affected, in more ways than one.
References
Consumption of artificial sweeteners may be tied to higher risk of CVD
Cardiovascular Business (9/8) reports “artificial sweeteners may be associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to” research that “examined data from the NutriNet-Santé Study.” Investigators “focused on the answers of more than 100,000 French participants” and found that “overall, after an average follow-up period of nine years, there were 1,502 cardiovascular events.” The findings published in The BMJ also showed “total artificial sweetener intake was linked to a heightened risk of CVD, and participants who reported consuming high amounts of these sweeteners were much more likely to suffer from cerebrovascular disease.”
Ongoing inflammation may play role in heart symptoms in long COVID
MedPage Today (9/8, Phend) reports researchers have “found clues to the heart symptoms common in” patients with long COVID, “which pointed to ongoing inflammation as the mediator.” In a study “cohort of 346 previously healthy patients with initially mild COVID-19, most seen for lingering symptoms a median of around 4 months later, structural heart disease and elevated biomarkers for cardiac injury or dysfunction were rare;” however, “there were plenty of signs of subclinical heart issues, reported” researchers in Nature Medicine.
Consumption of sugary, artificially sweetened beverages may increase risk of death from cancer
HealthDay (9/15, Munez) reports “drinking too many sugary beverages may increase the risk of death from cancer,” according to a study published in Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. These “sugar-sweetened beverages were associated with increased death rates from colon and kidney cancer, which still held true after adjusting for BMI.” Furthermore, study “participants who consumed artificially sweetened beverages also had an increased risk of pancreatic cancer, even after BMI adjustment.”
