Type 2 diabetes: sweetened drinks pose greater risk than other sugary foods

Sweetened drinks pose a greater risk of type 2 diabetes than most other foods containing fructose because of their effect on blood glucose levels, an evidence review in The BMJ has found.1 Fruit and other foods containing fructose seemed to have no harmful effects.

“These findings might help guide recommendations on important food sources of fructose in the prevention and management of diabetes,” said John Sievenpiper, the study’s lead author and a researcher at the Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Centre of St Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada. “But the level of evidence is low, and more high quality studies are needed.” …