Sugary drinks have been linked to changes in the gut microbiome and to a higher risk of developing diabetes in Hispanic or Latino populations, according to study published in Cell Metabolism.
Hispanic or Latino populations are at higher risk for diabetes compared to their white counterparts, according to the National Institutes of Health, and while the role of diet in diabetes has been well-studied, less is known about the link between the gut microbiome and disease risk, said Linda Van Horn, PhD, RD, chief of Nutrition in the Department of Preventive Medicine, who was a co-author of the study.
“Data document that, population-wide, Americans consume excessive amounts of sugar in their diet based on the U.S. dietary guidelines recommendations,” Van Horn said. “A study like this is valuable within a population that is prone to consuming those foods.”
In the study, investigators compared gut microbiome and self-reported sugary beverage intake of more than 1,800 Hispanic or Latino people. They found that increased consumption of sugary beverages was linked with nine gut bacterial species, including fewer short-chain-fatty-acid producers, that prior research has documented are altered by excess sugar consumption.
These changes in the microbiome were associated with a higher risk of diabetes upon follow-up, according to the study.
“This is an important public health problem,” Van Horn said. “The biological concerns regarding sugar-sweetened beverages are just beginning to emerge. Even when the beverages have no calories, consuming an excess of artificially sweetened beverages is not the healthiest approach.”
Moving forward, Van Horn and her collaborators will continue to study the role of diet in health as part of the Nutrition for Precision Health study, a partner of the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us research program.
“It will be a while before the results are analyzed, but that study that will be accompanied by various ancillary studies associated with it that are critically important to improving understanding of the specific role of nutrition in achieving optimal health,” Van Horn said. “Objective data will finally be available to look more specifically at some of these questions.”
The study was supported by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute grants HHSN268201300001I/N01-HC-65233, HHSN268201300004I/N01-HC-65234, HHSN268201300002I/N01-HC-65235, HHSN268201300003I/N01-HC-65236 and HHSN268201300005I/N01-HC-65237. Additional funding was provided by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases under grants R01DK119268 and R01DK126698.
