Reducing sugar intake can lower risk for dozens of health problems, study finds

BOSTON – Many Americans eat far more sugar than is recommended, and high dietary sugar may put you at risk for a whole host of health problems. 

Researchers in China conducted a large review of prior studies and found a link between dietary sugar intake and dozens of wide-ranging health conditions including heart disease, diabetes, asthma, depression, obesity, certain cancers, gout, and death.  

They say reducing sugar intake to below 6 teaspoons a day and limiting the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages to less than one serving a week could help reduce the adverse effect of sugar on overall health.  

But while you should be mindful of how much sugar you're eating on a regular basis, indulging in a small sugary sweet every now and then isn't such a bad thing and may help cut down on cravings that could cause you to overindulge.  

In:
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Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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