Apr 22, 2015 09:19 PM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

New research suggests that beverages sweetened with low, medium and high amounts of high-fructose corn syrup could significantly boost risk factors for heart disease.

Researchers at the University of California-Davis found that even when consumed for just two weeks by young, healthy men and women, sugary beverages significantly increase risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The study demonstrates a direct, dose-dependent relationship between the amount of added sugar consumed in sweetened beverages and increases in specific risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

"These findings clearly indicate that humans are acutely sensitive to the harmful effects of excess dietary sugar over a broad range of consumption levels," Kimber Stanhope, the study's lead author, said in a statement.

For the study, researchers collected data from 85 participants, including men and women ranging in age from 18 to 40 years. They were placed in four different groups. During 15 days of the study, they consumed beverages sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup equivalent to 0 percent, 10 percent, 17.5 percent or 25 percent of their total daily calorie requirements.

The 0-percent control group was given a sugar-free beverage sweetened with aspartame, an artificial sweetener.

At the beginning and end of the study, researchers used hourly blood draws to monitor the changes in the levels of lipoproteins, triglycerides and uric acid -- all known to be indicators of cardiovascular disease risk.

These risk factors increased as the dose of high-fructose corn syrup increased.

The findings are detailed in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 

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