>Friday August 25 5:34 PM ET
>Excess blood sugar may boost free-radical production
>
>By Suzanne Rostler
>
>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Excess sugar in the blood appears to increase
the
>production of free radicals--byproducts of normal metabolism that have been
>linked to aging and heart disease, US researchers report.
>
>The finding may help to explain the increased risk of heart disease and
>circulatory problems in diabetics (who have high blood sugar), and in the
obese.
> High sugar levels trigger increased free-radical production by white blood
>cells, leading to arterial damage and blocked arteries, the authors note.
>
>The investigators found that a drink containing 75 grams of pure glucose
(sugar)
> increased the formation of free radicals in healthy volunteers. The study
>results are published in the August issue of the Journal of Clinical
>Endocrinology and Metabolism.
>
>``We believe that in obese people, this cumulatively leads to damage and
may
>cause hardening of the arteries,'' Dr. Paresh Dandona, the study's lead
author,
>told Reuters Health.
>
>``Until now it was a mystery as to how in obese people there is a marked
>increase in heart disease and stroke,'' he added.
>
>The researchers, from the State University of New York at Buffalo, gave 14
>healthy people a drink containing the same amount of sugar (glucose) in two
cans
> of cola. Six other people drank a water-saccharine solution. The
investigators
>took blood samples before the drink and 1, 2 and 3 hours later.
>
>Free radicals in the blood rose significantly 1 hour after individuals
drank the
> sugar drink and more than doubled after 2 hours, the results indicate.
Those
>who drank the water-saccharine solution showed no change.
>
>The sugar drink was also associated with an increase in a part of an enzyme
that
> promotes free-radical generation, and a slight (4%) decrease in levels of
>vitamin E, an antioxidant.
>
>``The implication is that free-radical damage (leading to) atherosclerotic
>lesions is definitely mediated by nutrition,'' Dandona explained. ``There
is a
>link between the amount of free radicals and what and how much you eat.''
>
>The study findings may also help to explain why people with type 2 diabetes
are
>at increased risk of heart disease, he said.
>
>In type 2 diabetes, the cells fail to respond to insulin, the hormone that
>clears the blood of excess sugar. Excess sugar in the blood can lead to
fatigue
>and headache in the short term, and heart disease, kidney failure and
blindness
>over the long term.
>
>SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 2000;85:2970-
>