There are a lot of studies that are self-explanatory and thus quite useless, still they at least may draw some attention. However, most of the time they’re misdirected or used to cover up the real truth, as in this recent study by Mahdieh Abbasalizad Farhangi et al as published in Int J Cardiol Cardiovasc Risk Prev. June 14, 2025. Let’s see what Examine.com had to say in their summary.
Quick Summary
In this meta-analysis of 11 observational studies in 22,713 children and adolescents (ages 6–18,) researchers looked at drinking sugar-sweetened beverages and any association with increased insulin resistance.
Key study details
“The vast majority of the studies were cross-sectional and were conducted in Asian countries. The types of beverages studied included fruit juice/drinks, sodas, sports drinks, and energy drinks.”
The big problem here is the focus on sugar-sweetened beverages in a population that already are consuming a lot of carbohydrates as all carbohydrates end up the same way in the human body — as glucose — an immediate energy source that we humans naturally manufacture in precise amounts via gluconeogenesis (due to its toxicity in larger quantities.) Any exogenous carbohydrates, as in eating anything with carbs will upset this delicate balance and increase blood glucose above natural normal and safe levels, leading to cellular damage, especially in soft tissues and organs, as well as glycation; the destruction of amino acids and fatty acids that are present in the blood at the same time, rendering them toxic and increasing the risk of plaque.
Still, if the children are consuming more sugar-sweetened beverages than the average population, it’s likely that their intake of carbohydrates, as in sugars, are a little bit higher than the average population too. So, we should see an increase in blood glucose related damage, as in cells becoming damaged and unable to store glucose as glycogen, a condition wrongfully called “insulin resistance,” which is measured by using the Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR.)
Of course, if the researchers were thorough and sincere, they would also notice increased systemic inflammation from the body trying to heal damaged tissue, organ damage, damage to blood vessels, eyes, ears, nerves, and so on — as in typical damage caused by elevated blood glucose.
“The highest intake of sugar-sweetened beverages was associated with a higher (worse) HOMA-IR score (+0.21) than the lowest intake, but it was not associated with fasting blood glucose or insulin concentrations.
The studies included in the meta-analysis were of good methodological quality.”
What is important to understand, which also is very alarming, is that damage from elevated blood glucose takes time, depending on how much carbohydrates you consume and how much of it you might use as energy by being physically active or exercising. That is why a lot of athletes can come away with a high carb-intake for some time, although you can see the accelerated aging in their bodies from the glycation, the damage, and the stress of exercise.
With that said, with today’s ultra-processed foods, the availability of carbohydrates has increased dramatically. Also, in unprocessed plant-based foods, a lot of the carbohydrates are bound to fiber and antinutrients, just like its protein, rendering 25 to 50% of the carbohydrate and protein content totally useless as it will pass right through you. This is not the case with processed and ultra-processed food where much of the fiber has been removed and some of the antinutrients have been destroyed by the harsh process. While less antinutrients are good, the increased absorption of toxic carbs and the addition of man-made chemicals are bad. So, anything plant-based or processed is extremely toxic and feeding it to children should be a crime.
So, in this study we had children and adolescents aging from 6-years old to 18-years old. That’s a span of 12-years, where the oldest might have been consuming a lot of sugary beverages for 12 years, while the youngest likely just started with a year or so of such beverages. Considering that very few children begin drinking sodas, sports drinks, and energy drinks before the age of 6 and considering the median age, that means that most of the children in the study had not even been consuming sugar-sweetened beverages for 6 years — still they had developed so much cellular damage from the carbohydrates that the researchers saw an average increase of HOMA-IR by 0.21, which by “normal standards” is a relatively small change, but of clinical significance. To understand this, HOMA-IR is typically analyzed using a log transformation, and a 1-unit increase in (log)HOMA-IR is associated with a 31% increase in the odds of prevalent cardiovascular disease (CVD) in type 2 diabetic subjects. However, this is in adults that already have damage from consuming carbohydrates their whole life and likely already take medications which lowers the test results. In children who should be as healthy and undamaged as can be, an increase by 0.21 is much more concerning than if it were in an adult group as it may predict a higher risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes and metabolic diseases in early adulthood.
Also, children should normally be very active and should be able to tolerate a little bit of carbohydrates every now and then, although that would still be child abuse. Unfortunately, most parents are uneducated and deceived.
When I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s I was fed meat and potatoes and the occasional bread or pancakes and some sweets on Saturdays, but we were outside playing for 4 to 8 hours a day and also doing our chores — mowing lawns, cleaning stables, tending the fields and the cattle. But in today’s modern society, most children sit on their asses with a tablet or smart phone in their lap being programmed by the government to be obedient little consumers.
And again, this has very little to do with “sugar-sweetened beverages” as the bodily damage relates to all types of carbohydrates. It does not matter if a child consumes a lot of pasta, pastries, bread, rice, fruit, ice-cream, sweets, or sugar-sweetened beverages. The more carbohydrates they consume, the more damage inflicted. And it’s much worse if they consume seed/vegetable oils at the same time, as that really destroys your cardiovascular system. I have tons of articles on this.
Examine.com’s take
“Although this meta-analysis suggests that a higher intake of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with higher insulin resistance in kids, the evidence is limited by the cross-sectional study design, a reliance on self-reported intake, and the wide variability in the instruments and units used to assess intake.”
No, the evidence is not limited as this is simple biochemistry and physiology. We know what happens in the body as soon as blood glucose is elevated above our natural production maintained by gluconeogenesis. It’s been documented in thousands of studies and it’s simple biology and common sense as humans are obligate hyper carnivores and we’re made to run on a fat metabolism, being in ketosis. Just because we can consume carbohydrates without dying instantly does not mean that it’s good or even necessary for us. Just the opposite.
I have many articles on this with real research and sound logic. And this study is only another nail in that coffin proving that we are right, although they try to blame “sugar-sweetened beverages” instead of admitting that any kind of carbohydrate is the culprit — which is part of the agenda to keep humanity in the dark, to keep us malnourished, unhealthy, weak, and diseased so we can be obedient little slaves to the system fully dependent on their drugs and treatments.
If you need help with any kind of health problems or transitioning from your current way of eating to our natural species-appropriate, species-specific way of eating, I’m available for both coaching and consultation.
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