Sugary drinks increase risk of dying by 20 percent

Buzzworthy

A couple of weeks ago, two studies were published almost simultaneously. One made front page headlines. The other didn’t. One was about the dangers of red meat. The other about the dangers of sugary drinks. If you picked up a newspaper, turned on the TV, or browsed the Internet at all over the past two weeks, you probably already know which one created the most “buzz.” Yes, the media has everyone terrified to eat red meat. Again.

But just because it got the lion’s share of the attention doesn’t mean beef is the more dangerous villain here.

According to the much-hyped research, beef increased risk of dying by 10%. Apparently, it was enough to put the media on red alert.

So I’m wondering why there was barely a blip about the fact that sugary drinks increased risk of dying by 20%.

According to that study, drinking even just one can of soda a day increased your risk for heart disease. It raised c-reactive protein and lipoprotein (a). C-reactive protein is a marker for inflammation around the heart. And lipoprotein (a) is a specific type of cholesterol that’s much more dangerous than the LDL variety. Both of these are critical markers for heart disease.

Given the widespread consumption of soda, this has huge public health implications. Yet, the meat study stole all the glory.

We already knew that sugary beverages increase your risk for diabetes. Now we know they increase your risk for heart disease–by a terrifying amount. Yet the media and the government still put the emphasis on red meat and cheese. (More on both of those later this week.)

They’ve got it all wrong. At best, listening to their advice is leading you astray. At worst, it’s leading you to an early grave.

The good news is, this is–hands down–one of the easiest things to change. You can do it right now. Make the decision to stop drinking soda starting today. Switch to water, with the occasional green or herbal tea for variety.

You’ll be much healthier in the long run.