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Notice to type 2 diabetics: according to a study conducted by American researchers, to reduce your risk of dying prematurely, here are the drinks to favor and those to abandon.
Type 2 diabetes imposes a fairly strict control of its food intake and drinks are one of them. According to the results of an American study, certain drinks should be preferred more than others, in order to reduce the risk of premature death.
Eight types of drinks studied
This work was carried out using data from questionnaires asked of more than 15,500 American adults with type 2 diabetes. The participants were, for the most part (75%), women aged 61, in mean.
For 18 years, volunteers regularly responded to researchers about their consumption of eight different types of drinks:
- artificially sweetened beverages (by sweeteners, for example);
- coffee ;
- fruit juices ;
- skimmed milk;
- whole milk;
- flat water ;
- tea ;
- sugary drinks, such as colas or sodas but also lemonades or fruit punches;
The researchers assumed that consuming these types of drinks with artificial sugars once a day was “high” consumption and drinking them less than once a month was considered low consumption. For the other drinks, the classification of “high” consumption was as follows:
- For coffee, caffeinated and decaffeinated: four cups a day;
- For tea: two cups a day;
- For water: five glasses a day;
- For low-fat milk: two glasses a day.
A low amount for each beverage was less than one cup or glass per month.
20% increased mortality
The researchers then analyzed the responses to understand their impact on the mortality of people with diabetes.
Results: Drinking more drinks with artificial sugars increases the risk of heart disease by 25% and the risk of dying from a heart attack or other cardiovascular event by 29%.
The consumption of artificially sweetened drinks is also an aggravating factor: people who drank the most had a 20% increased risk of death.
More seriously, the risk of premature death also increases by 8% for each additional serving per day.
Sugary drinks, risk factor for cardiovascular disease
Furthermore, the study shows that cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in people with type 2 diabetes.”Some drinks are absolutely more beneficial than others, depending on the type of drink you are comparing“says study author Qi Sun, an associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in Boston.”Sugary drinks like colas, high-sugar fruit juices, and whole milk high in saturated fat are known risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes and premature cardiovascular disease“.
Coffee, tea, plain water and skimmed milk, drinks that reduce the risk of heart disease
However, this study also showed that people with type 2 diabetes who drink more coffee, tea or skimmed milk reduce their risk of heart disease. And the link is proportional to the quantity consumed.
Thus, consuming large amounts of coffee, tea, water, and low-fat milk was associated with lower mortality compared to consuming a small amount. In addition, the risk of premature death associated with the consumption of one of these drinks was reduced:
- 26% for coffee;
- 21% for tea;
- 23% for still water;
- 12% for skimmed milk.
Finally, good news for diabetics who are used to drinking sugary drinks: researchers have shown that when they are replaced by healthier drinks, such as coffee, the risk of death is significantly reduced.
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