High Fructose Consumption, Inflammation Up (Bad), LDL-to-HDL Ratio Down (Good) - Is That Good or Bad for the Heart?
Much to the researchers surprise, though, the same amount of fructose had significant beneficial effects on the plasma lipid levels of the healthy male and female adults (n = 14) between the ages of 18-60 years who were recruited by advertisement and underwent study procedures at the Nutraceuticals Research Group Clinic rooms at the University of Newcastle in Australia.
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Figure 1: Changes in hs-CRP, HDL and LDL in response to the ingestion of the test drinks (Jameel. 2014). |
Apples reduce, apple juice increases hs-CRP in healthy volunteers (Ravn-Haren. 2013). |
Figure 2: CRP-dependent risk levels for cardiovascular disease according to the American Hear Association. |
Furthermore, a comparison of the predictive value of different risk markers for cardiovascular disease by Folsom, et al. (2006) indicates that the hs-CRP values did not add to the prognostic value of the standard risk factors which are age, race, sex, systolic blood pressure, smoking status, diabetes and - you guessed it - total and high density lipoprotein cholesterol, which increased by almost 7% while the amount of LDL dropped by maximally 6%. Thus the LDL/HDL ratio decreased from 1.84 to 1.62. That's a 12% decrease that would be health relevant if the subjects' LDL/HDL ratio was not far away from the danger-zone (>5 | see Manninen. 1992), already. Similarly, the total cholesterol to HDL ratio dropped by -1.97 but wasn't in the danger zone before, either.
Incremental area under the curve for glucose and insulin 0-120min after consuming the test beverages (Jameel. 2014). |
So, if you've been drinking your first real coke of 2015 last night, don't worry. It probably didn't hurt your heart. If you plan to continue drinking 1l of the brown sugar-liquid everyday, this year, though, I would not guarantee that the extra pounds you may be gaining and the diabetes you may be developing won't have negative consequences for your heart and maybe liver health | Comment on Facebook.
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