Experts pinpoint 'exact' number of weekly sweet treats people can have before being bad for the heart
Topics: Health, Food and Drink, NHS
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Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Atlantide Phototravel/Getty Images/athima tongloom
Topics: Health, Food and Drink, NHS
A new study has lifted the lid on how many sweet treats we're 'safe' to eat every day - and revealed those with a lack of sugary snacks in their diet could actually be at risk.
Healthcare professionals have long warned against high sugar diets as too much calorie-dense candy in our daily lives can become a fast-track ticket to obesity.
It's why NHS guidance advises limiting sugar intake to 30g per day, the equivalent to around seven sugar cubes, with children on an even stricter limit.
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However, dodging the sweet stuff entirely could be detrimental to our heart health, a Swedish study has claimed.
Researchers monitored the diets and cardiovascular health of some 69,705 Swedish men and women and discovered those who had a small amount of sugary treats each week actually lowered their chance of a stroke by a sixth.
They also had a lower chance of a heart attack by around a fifth compared to those who had less than two treats over the seven day period.
The experts explained in the Frontiers of Public Health that the preventative powers of candy even extended to other heart problems, such as aneurysms, heart failure, and irregular heartbeat.
So, what's the magic number? According to the researchers, the benefits can come from two small chocolate bars a day.
Suzanne Janzi of Lund University, the lead author of the research, said those who consume very little sugar could have 'pre-existing health conditions' and warned not enough sugar in the diet can increase the risk of a heart attack and stroke.
She said: "While our observational study cannot establish causation, these findings suggest that extremely low sugar intake may not be necessary or beneficial for cardiovascular health."
However, that's not a pass to start stuffing your face with the sugary stuff, as the study revealed high sugar intake was linked to poorer heart health too.
The study particularly warned against 'liquid sugars', like sodas, as drinking these sweetened beverages more than eight times a week increased the risk of an aneurysm by almost a third, heart failure or stroke by nearly a fifth and a 10 percent increase in risk of an irregular heartbeat.
Suzanne explained this is because drinks with added sugars can make us feel hungrier, leading to an 'overconsumption' of calories.
A dietary survey which concluded in 2019 showed similar results as some 26,000 'overweight' participants who tracked their sugar consumption every week developed heart problems.
As for what constitutes a 'serving' of sugar, the authors didn't say, but they referred to other studies that observed around 60g for pastries, sweets and chocolate and 75g for ice cream.