High Blood Sugar and Increased Risk of Heart Disease

We've known for years that high blood sugar is a health risk for people with diabetes. In diabetics, a high average blood sugar level increases the risk for blindness, kidney disease and nerve damage. It also increases the risk of heart disease, which accounts for 80% of deaths in people with diabetes.

A study conducted at the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine recently discovered that non-diabetics are also at much higher risk of heart disease and other fatal illnesses if their blood sugar levels are above normal.

This gives us one more reason to lose weight and cut back or eliminate the sugar from our diets. It isn't just about losing weight to look better - it's about staying healthy.

A study headed by Kay-Tee Khaw, M.D., was published in the September 21, 2004 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

It was discovered that for both men and women, even those without diabetes, there is a strong relationship between high average blood sugar levels and cardiovascular disease. In fact, high blood sugar levels appear to be a risk factor for deaths from all causes.

The high-blood sugar risk was found in people with moderately elevated average blood sugar levels that are almost "normal" for Americans.

Three-fourths of the 521 deaths from all causes among study participants were people with moderately elevated average blood sugar levels between 5% and 6.9%. Those with the lowest rates of heart disease and death had blood sugar levels below 5%, as measured by a test called hemoglobin 1c (HbA1c).

Every 1% increase in the blood sugar level increases the risk of death -from any cause - by 28% for women and 24% for men. These risks were independent of other risk factors, including age, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure, cholesterol counts, smoking, or history of heart disease.

How significant are these findings for the average American? With every small increase in the average blood sugar level, even as small an increase as 0.1%, the risk of heart disease goes up. And only about 1/4 of our general population has average blood sugar levels in the safe 5% range. Unfortunately, the tendency is for our blood sugar levels to keep going up, as our obesity rate increases and our activity levels decline.

As we put on more fat, our bodies are less able to remove excess sugar from the blood, because those extra fat cells cause a lowered insulin response. Overweight people are especially prone to high blood sugar levels, so a diet high in veggies and fruit, instead of sugar and simple carbs, is even more important for those of us who are carrying some extra weight.

These studies clearly show some of the dangers of the average American diet, which is high in both sugar and fat. Giving up that desert could be the key to living long and living well.