A controlled sugar diet at an early age can help reduce the risk of developing serious diseases like Type 2 diabetes and Hypertension in adult life. It is common knowledge that too much sugar is a bane to human health, but a recent study adds to this understanding. The first 1,000 days from the time of conception could be a game changer for a baby’s adult life. Scientists suggest that if parents can maintain a no-added-sugar diet for their baby for two years after birth, they can significantly reduce the risk of chronic diseases developing later in life.
Sugar and Its Link to Diabetes and Hypertension
Type 2 diabetes is the most prevalent type of diabetes. This disease occurs when your blood sugar (blood glucose) is too high. Your pancreas produces a hormone called Insulin which is responsible for balancing the amount of sugar in your blood. In case, your body fails to produce enough insulin, the content of sugar increases in your blood.
Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a condition where the pressure in your blood vessels exceeds normal levels. Blood pressure is written as 120/80 mm Hg. Your blood pressure is said to be high when the systolic reading (the first reading) is 130 mm Hg or higher, or the diastolic reading (the second reading)is 80 mm Hg or higher. It is very common nowadays; almost 50 percent of Americans have it, and most don’t even know, but it can be fatal if not treated.
Understanding the Research Context
In a recent study, researchers used data from the UK Biobank to analyze the trend in the health of individuals who were conceived during the time of World War II. They used historical data for their research to compare the health of individuals exposed to less sugar consumption to those who consumed more in their early lives.
According to the data, during the time of World War II, between 1942 and 1953, sugar rationing took place in the UK. So, individuals born (or conceived ) in this time frame were less exposed to sugar consumption. On the other hand, sugar consumption became twice as high after the end of rationing.
The experiment reveals that individuals born during the phase of sugar rationing had a 35 percent lower chance of developing diabetes, and the risk of developing hypertension decreases by up to 20 percent in such individuals.
Patients that did develop diabetes caught it four years later as compared to others, and people with hypertension were reported to have gotten the disease two years later. That means if you do develop these conditions later in life after intaking no added sugar in the early years of your life, it is still delayed. This is also good news since diabetes, if developed, shortens life length. The sooner you get it, the more years are taken from your lifetime.
