Steven Herrmann, M.D., Ph.D.
Heart and Vascular Institute, UPMC

Sugar and spice are not so nice when it comes to heart health. They not only have the ability to affect your waistline, but additionally have the power to harm your heart. While it’s okay to indulge occasionally, it’s vital to monitor your intake of these substances to help protect your cardiovascular well-being.

Sugar’s Effects

Sugar is added to most processed foods, which most Americans consume daily. Refined sugars are also found in all of the sweet treats lining your pantry shelves. They are even found in yogurts, salad dressings, ketchup, and other common condiments. On average, Americans consume 66 pounds of sugar per person per year. That equals nearly 20 teaspoons per day.

Sugar can affect your heart by:

• Increasing the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.
• Spiking blood sugar levels (and so insulin levels), which increases your risk of obesity and heart disease.
• Stopping triglycerides (fat in the blood connected with cardiovascular disease) from breaking down.
• Lowers the level of HDL cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol) while raising LDL (“bad” cholesterol) levels.

Sodium’s Effects

A good portion of salt is made up of sodium, a mineral that is essential for life. It’s regulated by your kidneys, and it helps control your body’s fluid balance. It also helps send nerve impulses and affects muscle function.

Too much salt in the body can:

• Raise Your Blood Pressure – Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of your arteries. When your blood pressure is at a high level for longer periods of time, your heart may become damaged from a decreased flow of oxygen to your heart.
• Make you Dehydrated – Dehydration occurs when your body uses more fluids than you take in. This may be a result of your kidneys’ attempt to regulate your body’s increased sodium levels. Your heart becomes affected as it would need to work harder and pump faster to make this possible.
• Harden Your Arteries – Higher levels of sodium cause blood vessel walls to tighten or harden. When this occurs over a longer time period, plaque may buildup and cause a blockage or heart attack.

Tips to Reduce Intake

You do not need to completely eliminate sugar and salt from your diet to decrease your risk of heart disease. The daily suggestions for sugar are 24 grams for women and 36 grams for men, and for salt, it’s about 2,300 milligrams for either sex. A few tips to help you salt and sugar intake are:

• Eat more whole foods like fruits and vegetables to help avoid processed foods. Think of DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) or the Mediterranean diet. Both nutritional methods focus on foods rich in fiber, legumes, and fruits, ultimately lowering sodium intake.
• Check labels at the grocery store and purchase items with lower sodium and sugar content. Go for options that have “reduced” labels.
• Avoid sugary drinks. Replace soda with carbonated water with a squeeze of lemon or other fruit juice.
• Use different spices and herbs to add flavor to your meals in place of salt.

It’s never too late to start putting more of an effort toward your heart health. Making healthy choices now can lessen your chances of developing heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.

Steven Herrmann, M.D., Ph.D., is a cardiologist with UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute of Bradford, 1001 East Main St., Bradford, and he also sees patients at UPMC Cole, 1001 East Second St., Coudersport. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Herrmann in Bradford, call 814-368-1000, and for Coudersport, call 814-260-5576. For more information, visit UPMC.com/HeartNCPA.