Women Over 50 Should Avoid Drinking This Popular Beverage

When a woman reaches menopause, her cycles become irregular as estrogen and progesterone levels begin to significantly drop. These drops in hormone levels can result in hot flashes, problems sleeping, incontinence, and weight gain. Some of these symptoms might go away after menopause, but women still have to pay careful attention to what they eat and drink, particularly added sugar.

Sugar-sweetened drinks, fruit drinks, and sweetened coffees and teas account for 40% of the added sugar in a typical U.S. diet, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A single can (480 grams) of Coke has 52 grams of added sugar (By the way, here's the truth about what's really in soda). The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends 1,800 calories a day for moderately active women over 50. Added sugars should only account for 10% of this daily calorie intake, which amounts to a daily limit of 45 grams of added sugar. Sugar-sweetened beverages, including sweetened coffees, teas, and sports drinks (more than 20 grams of added sugar), should be avoided if you're over 50 to reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some symptoms of menopause.

Women over 50 experience changes in how they process carbohydrates, according to a 2024 article in Nutrients. The lack of estrogen in your body means a decline in how much insulin is secreted to control your blood sugar, which increases your risk of type 2 diabetes. Higher levels of glucose in your blood get stored as fat, and your body also produces more inflammation.

A 2017 article in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at how much sugar-sweetened beverages were linked to the risk of type 2 diabetes in postmenopausal women. More than 64,000 women were tracked for about eight years. The women who drank two or more sugar-sweetened drinks a day were 43% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. Replacing one of these drinks with water cuts your risk by 10%.

Swapping sugary drinks for artificially sweetened drinks doesn't reduce your risk of diabetes. In fact, drinking two or more diet drinks a day increases your risk of type 2 diabetes by 21%, and the risk increases if you have obesity.

The transition through menopause might be aggravated by sweetened drinks and other foods in your diet. A 2022 study in Maturitas interviewed 288 postmenopausal women and found that those who drank sugar-sweetened drinks and ate sausage were 23% more likely to experience physical pains and discomfort. They also found sugary drinks and sausage were linked to a 22% higher prevalence of poor memory or concentration.

Sweetening your coffee or tea with sugar might also affect your heart health, according to a 2022 study in Nutrients. Drinking at least one sugar-sweetened drink per day was linked to a 29% higher risk of cardiovascular disease, a 35% higher risk of coronary heart disease, and a 30% higher risk of stroke. Artificially-sweetened drinks also increase your risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. Women who got 15% or more of their total calories from added sugar increased their risk of cardiovascular disease by 8% and coronary heart disease by 20%.

Researchers from the 2024 article in Nutrients suggested that reducing your added sugars to 5% of your daily calories can be beneficial to your health if you're over 50. That's about 22 grams of added sugar or about 5 teaspoons. Rather than choosing processed foods that have added sugar, select foods low on the glycemic index such as fiber-rich vegetables and whole grains.