How might soft drinks lead to type 2 diabetes?
- Decades of evidence show that regularly consuming soda is linked to poorer health outcomes.
- The latest study on the topic suggests that the negative effects may be partly mediated by the gut microbiome.
- The researchers identified nine bacterial species that appear to be important in this relationship.
A new study, which appears in Cell MetabolismTrusted Source, concludes that sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is linked to increased levels of nine specific bacteria in the gut microbiome.
As these microbes break down food, they produce certain compounds, or metabolites. Scientists found that these chemicals were associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
How does soda consumption impact health?
Previous research has shown that people who drink large quantities of sugar-sweetened beverages are more likely to have type 2 diabetesTrusted Source.
While consumption of these beverages has declined in recent years, they were still the leading source of added sugar intake in the United States between 2017 and 2018.
The mechanism by which soda intake influences health is likely to be multifaceted. For instance, experts believe these factors all play a part:
- excessive weight gain
- insulin resistance — when cells no longer respond adequately to insulin
- inflammation
- atherogenic dyslipidemia — unhealthy levels of blood fats.
According to the authors of the new study, evidence from animal studies suggests that consuming the main sugars in soda — fructose and glucose — is linked to:
- reduced gut bacteria diversity — one marker of a less healthy microbiome
- reduced levels of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) — these are metabolites produced by “good” gut bacteria that support overall health
- increased levels of bacterial species linked to inflammation.
In this study, the scientists found that compounds associated with glycerophospholipid and BCAA were linked to raised diabetes risk and poorer metabolic traits, such as higher levels of blood sugar, higher body mass index (BMI), and lower levels of “good” cholesterol.
On the other hand, increased levels of AAA derivatives and phenylsulfate were linked with better metabolic traits.
