Another Reason To Avoid Sweet Drinks
If you sip a sugary drink with a high protein meal, you may end up priming your body to store more fat. A new study from the USDA Agricultural Research Service has revealed that the more protein consumed in a meal containing a sweet drink, the less the breakdown of fat molecules. The researchers wrote that they were surprised by the metabolic impact of sugar-sweetened drinks consumed with high protein meals. They also reported that the combination increased the desire of study’s 27 participants’ for savory and salty foods for four hours after their meal. The participants were young men and women whose weight was healthy. Study leader Shanon L. Casperson noted that the calories provided by the sugary drinks didn’t make the participants feel more full and that the added calories weren’t expended. She noted that sugar sweetened drinks are the largest single source of sugar in the American diet and that this study’s results provide further insight on the impact they have on weight gain and obesity.
Source:
Shanon L. Casperson et al, “Postprandial energy metabolism and substrate oxidation in response to the inclusion of a sugar- or non-nutritive sweetened beverage with meals differing in protein content.” BMC Nutrition, July 21, 2017, DOI: 10.1186/s40795-017-0170-2
Also in this week’s health bulletin:
If you are tired of too many prescriptions – and have had enough of taking medications for ailments that may not require them – then my new book may be for you: Mind Over Meds looks at the problem of overmedication, the science that shows drugs aren’t always the best option, as well as helpful, reliable integrative medicine approaches.
