Study after study after study has linked drinking sugary beverages to a host of modern day ills. And here is another one. In an evaluation involving thousands of adults of various ethnicities, middle-aged women who reported drinking two or more sugary beverages (like soda, fruit drinks, sports drinks, etc) daily were almost four times more likely to develop high triglycerides (a risk factor for heart-disease) along with abnormal blood sugar levels (prediabetes) vs. those drinking less than one a day. The researchers noted these findings occurred even if study subjects did not gain any weight. In other words, sugary beverages appear to have direct toxic effects on the cardiovascular system and on our blood sugar-regulating mechanisms. (AHA Annual Meeting, November 2011, Orlando, FL)

If you drink sugary beverages, STOP!  Based on all the nutrition studies I have reviewed in my lifetime (which would be thousands) this is the single most powerful dietary step you could take to improve your health.