Added sugars comprise of table sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, maple syrup, honey, molasses and other sweeteners in the prepared and processed foods and beverages. Sugars (simple carbohydrates) refer to monosaccharides (glucose, galactose, and fructose) and disaccharides (sucrose [glucose þ fructose] found in sugarcane, beets, honey, and corn syrup; lactose [glucose þ lactose] found in milk products; and maltose [glucose þ glucose] found in malt). Complex carbohydrates are glucose-containing polysaccharides, that is, starch. The American Heart Association recommends six teaspoons (24 g) of added sugar per day for women and nine teaspoons (36 g) per day for men or in other words added sugar should provide 100 cal/d for women and 150 cal/d for men, respectively. 1 The American Heart Association recommends that not more than 5% of calories should come from sugar. 1 High consumption of added sugars has a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and the associated risk factors. 2,3 Benn et al, 4 have reported that elevation of nonfasting glucose is associated with an increased risk of ischemic heart disease (IHD) and myocardial infarction (MI). A high intake of sugar enhances the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in diabetic individuals using diuretics. 5 The International Study of Macro/Micronutrients and Blood Pressure reported that daily consumption of every extra sugar-sweetened beverage increased the systolic arterial pressure by 1.6 mm Hg and the diastolic pressure by 0.8 mm Hg. 6 The present review deals with the glucose and oxidative stress, cardiovascular disease, serum lipids, and inflammatory mediators, and the glucose-induced oxidative stress as a mechanism of cardiovascular diseases. A recent publication has shown that there is a significant correlation between the added sugar consumption and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease mortality. 7
Reactive Oxygen SpeciesThe formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is schematically depicted in ►Fig. 1 and has been described in detail Keywords ► added sugars ► reactive oxygen species ► atherosclerosis ► hypertension ► coronary artery disease ► peripheral vascular disease
AbstractAdded sugars comprising of table sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, maple syrup, honey, molasses, and other sweeteners in the prepared processed foods and beverages have been implicated in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases. This article deals with the reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a mechanism of sugar-induced cardiovascular diseases. There is an association between the consumption of high levels of serum glucose with cardiovascular diseases. Various sources of sugar-induced generation of ROS, including mitochondria, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-oxidase, advanced glycation end products, insulin, and uric acid have been discussed. The mechanism by which ROS induce the development of atherosclerosis, hypertension, peripheral vascular disease, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, heart failure, and cardiac arrhythmias have been discussed in detail....