Prevalence of daily hyperglycemia in obese type 2 diabetic men compared with that in lean and obese normoglycemic men: effect of consumption of a sucrose-containing beverage.
Manders RJ, Pennings B, Beckers CP, Aipassa TI, van Loon LJ. Am J Clin Nutr 2009;90:511-8
In their recent paper, Manders et al. reported that moderate consumption of sucrose-sweetened beverages — equivalent to more than two 12-oz cans of cola—did not increase the prevalence of hyperglycemic or reactive hypoglycemia under normal free-living conditions in a variety of study subjects, including lean normoglycemic, obese normoglycemic and type 2 diabetic individuals.1
The American Heart Association recently called for setting a “prudent daily upper limit of just over 30 g (6 teaspoons or 100 calories) of added sugars for average-sized women and just over 45 g (9 teaspoons or 150 calories) for average-sized men.” 2 It should be noted, however, that their recommendations were admittedly based on limited trial data, observational studies and national survey data.
The Manders paper, therefore, offers important experimental counter-evidence that the addition of moderate sugars to the diet—in this case twice the “prudent” limit called for by AHA—is well tolerated and does not influence normal daily blood glucose fluctuations in lean or obese subjects, with or without type 2 diabetes.