Common breakfast drinks ‘increase your risk of silent killers by up to 10%’
SOME of Britain’s go-to breakfast drinks make people more susceptible to deadly heart conditions, scientists warn.
Added sugars found in fruit juices – like orange juice – increase the risk of having a stroke by 10 per cent, they said.
Their study tracked heart disease and stroke rates in more than 110,000 people over nine years.
It found the risk of either condition rose by seven per cent for every five per cent more added sugars people had in their diet.
Study author Rebecca Kelly, of the University of Oxford, said people should replace the amount of added sugar in their diet with naturally occurring ones in fruit and vegetables.
She said: “Higher free sugar intake was significantly positively associated with risks of cardiovascular disease and stroke.”
Cardiovascular disease is the broad term for conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels and is one of the main causes of death and disability in Britain.
According to the British Heart Foundation, around 7.6million Brits are living with the conditions, which kill around 460 people a day.
The conditions include coronary heart disease — when blood to the heart is blocked by cholesterol build-ups — and strokes, when this occurs with blood to the brain.
Peripheral arterial disease, caused by blockages in vessels in the legs and arms, and aortic disease, damage to the body’s main artery, are also included in the group.
High blood pressure and cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, being overweight and not exercising enough all increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
The study, published in BMC Medicine, looked at the link between the conditions and eating free sugars — sugars added to food and also found naturally in honey and fruit juice.
Researchers tracked diets in more than 110,000 Brits for around nine years and checked if they suffered any type of cardiovascular disease.
They found the amount of carbohydrates people ate had no effect on cardiovascular disease risk.
But if more of these were made up by free sugars, patients’ chances of developing a condition increased.
For every extra five per cent of carbs that were made up by free sugars, participants were 10 per cent more likely to have a stroke and six per cent more likely to suffer heart disease.
What are the symptoms?
The FAST method – which stands for Face, Arms, Speech, Time – is the easiest way to remember the most common symptoms of stroke:
F = Face drooping – if one side of a person’s face is dropped or numb then ask them to smile, if it’s uneven then you should seek help.
A = Arm weakness – if one arm is weak or numb then you should ask the person to raise both arms. If one arm drifts downwards then you might need to get help
S = Speech difficulty – if a person’s speech is slurred then this could be a sign of a stroke
T = Time to call 999 – if a person has the signs above then you need to call 999 in the UK or 911 in the US for emergency care.
Other symptoms include:
- sudden weakness or numbness on one side of the body
- difficulty finding words
- sudden blurred vision or loss of sight
- sudden confusion, dizziness or unsteadiness
- a sudden and severe headache
- difficulty understanding what others are saying
- difficulty swallowing
If any of these symptoms occur for less than a few hours, you could be suffering from a transient ischaemic attack (TIA).
This attack, which is sometimes known as a “mini-stroke”, indicates that there is a problem with the blood supply to your brain.
It’s important to contact your GP or local hospital if experiencing these symptoms, as they could increase your risk of stroke in the near future.