"At this time there is insufficient evidence to restrict the use of high fructose syrup or label products that contain it with a warning," said AMA Board Member William Dolan, M.D. "We do recommend consumers limit the amount of all added caloric sweeteners to no more than 32 grams of sugar daily based on a 2,000 calorie diet in accordance with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans."
High fructose syrups are sweeteners produced from starches such as corn, rice and wheat. They can be found in a variety of food products, including breakfast cereals, soft drinks and breads. Currently, there are few available studies on the health effects of high fructose syrup and most are focused on the short-term effects.
"Obesity continues to be a major public health problem in this country. Overweight and obese adults and children are at an increased risk for chronic health conditions like heart disease and diabetes" said Dr. Dolan. "Eating a healthier diet can help maintain a healthy weight and drastically reduce your chances of developing weight-related illnesses."
This report was introduced at the AMA's Annual policy-making meeting in Chicago.
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The researchers then checked whether those who had high fasting glucose - with or without a formal diagnosis of diabetes - were more likely to develop depressive symptoms by the end of the study.
The researchers found that patients treated for diabetes were about 54 percent more likely to develop elevated depressive symptoms than those without diabetes.
A surprising result the researchers are unable to explain was that those with prediabetes or untreated diabetes were about 25 percent less likely to develop elevated depressive symptoms than people with normal fasting glucose.
Dr. Golden, an associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins, speculates that depression may lead patients to develop behaviours that trigger diabetes or make it worse, such as overeating, not exercising or smoking.
Similarly, keeping up with the often extensive treatment regimens to care for their diabetes may make patients ™ depression worse.
Dr. Golden says having both diabetes and depression can make it difficult for patients to get good clinical outcomes and understanding how one condition might lead to another could improve treatments for both problems.
The study is published in the June 18th issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, and was supported by grants from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.