Sugary Drinks May Spike Your Diabetes Risk by 25%, Study Finds

A new study is out to prove that not all sugars are created equal. 

In May, researchers at Brigham Young University published the findings of their extensive new study in the journal Advances in Nutrition, which explored the effects of dietary sugar intake and discovered that the source of sugar can make all the difference. 

The researchers undertook the enormous task of conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of data from over 500,000 people across Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States to understand the “dose-response relationship between dietary sugar intake” and the incidence of type 2 diabetes. Moreover, they noted that they “found that risk was influenced by the form in which sugar was consumed.”

The findings indicate that sugars in products like juices and sodas are more consistently linked to higher rates of type 2 diabetes. However, not only do sugars from other sources, including fruit, show lower rates, but the researchers also demonstrated that they may actually protect against developing type 2 diabetes in the future.

“This is the first study to draw clear dose-response relationships between different sugar sources and type 2 diabetes risk,” Karen Della Corte, lead author and BYU nutritional science professor, shared in a statement. “It highlights why drinking your sugar, whether from soda or juice, is more problematic for health than eating it.”

The authors further explained that with every additional 12-ounce serving of a sweetened beverage like soda, a person's risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases by a staggering 25%. In contrast, with juice, the risk is lower but still elevated at 5%.

However, it's important to emphasize that these numbers don't indicate that drinking four sodas in a day results in a 100% chance of developing type 2 diabetes. The authors explained in their statement, “If the average person’s baseline risk of developing type 2 diabetes is about 10%, four sodas a day could raise that to roughly 20%, not 100%.”

As for why drinking sugar has such a different effect than consuming it in whole fruits and grains, the authors explained that it may be because these drinks isolate sugars without the added benefits of fiber, fat, and protein. Without these components, it could result in an increased glycemic load that may be challenging for your liver to manage.

“This study underscores the need for even more stringent recommendations for liquid sugars, such as those in sugar-sweetened beverages and fruit juice, as they appear to harmfully associate with metabolic health,” Della Corte added. “Rather than condemning all added sugars, future dietary guidelines might consider the differential effects of sugar based on its source and form.”