Sage journals published an interesting research last week comparing sugary drink intake between Hispanics and non-Hispanics, to assess the two questions below.
- Is there a statistical difference in heart disease between Hispanics and non-Hispanics?
- If there is a difference, is this difference cause by ethnicity or environmental factors?
Vascular fuction difference between Hispanic and non-Hispanic men - Ethnicity is ruled out
Hispanic men are among the people in the United States who drink the most sugary drinks. Drinking sugary beverages on a regular basis has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease by altering vascular function. The second leading cause of death among Hispanics is cardiovascular disease.
The goal of this study is to find out if Hispanic men's vascular function is different from that of non-Hispanic men, and if so, if this is because of their ethnicity or because of other risk factors, like drinking sugary drinks. Venous occlusion plethysmography was used to measure the blood flow in the forearms of 11 Hispanic men and 11 non-Hispanic men who had reactive hyperemia.
Also Read: The Real Science and Debate Behind Sugar Craving
During interviews, participants filled out questionnaires that asked about their height, weight, health, diet, and physical activity. Results: Peak or total reactive hyperemia forearm blood flow did not differ significantly between matched pairs (p = 0.924). Dietary factors, drinking sugary drinks (p = 0.693), and physical activity did not show any differences that were statistically important (0.720).
There were no statistical differences between Hispanic and non-Hispanic males in terms of body composition, diet, physical activity, or vascular function. Heart disease may be caused more by the environment and how people live their lives than by their race. Recruitment based only on ethnicity led to a group of people who were similar in how much SSB they drank and how well their blood vessels worked.
An important takeaway from this research is that sugar, more than race, is a culprit in causing vascular and heart disease. Which bring me back to an article I published some time ago about sugar addiction. The question still stands whether we really need to consume as much sugar as we do.
Reference below:
Further reading: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/02601060221144130