Sugar hurts your heart

Researchers at Harvard University studied thousands of adults over the course of 15 years and found those who consumed 25 per cent or more of their daily kilojoules from sugar were, in that time, more than twice as likely to die from heart disease as those whose diets included less than 10 per cent of added sugar a day. (The worst offenders? Sweetened beverages, grain-based treats, fruit drinks and dairy desserts.)
Don’t miss these common – but inaccurate – beliefs about heart disease.
‘No sugar added’ doesn’t mean ‘healthy’

If the label says ‘100 per cent juice,’ don’t chug with abandon. Even if the drink has no added sweeteners, its naturally occurring sugars are far more concentrated than you’d find in a piece of fruit. And unlike an orange or apple, which are high in fibre, juice offers empty kilojoules and is of minimal nutritional value.
Excess sugar is linked to dementia

In 2018, researchers at the University of Bath found a molecular link between sugary diets and early Alzheimer’s. The scientists discovered that glycation – a reaction through which glucose affects cells – causes damage to an important enzyme that’s involved in the reduction of abnormal protein build-up in the brain, which is characteristic of the disease.
Find out what you can do to cut your risk of dementia by 35 per cent.