Sugar. Is it se¬riously harmful to health?

Sugars are essential for life because they represent the main source of energy for living beings. From the second post-war period their consumption has had a continuous and progressive increase for many reasons. This trend especially with regard to the increasingly significant use of “free” sugars in beverages can pose a serious health risk, in particular for the development of cardiovascular disease, obesity, liver cirrhosis, dementia and diabetes mellitus both of type 1 and 2. The WHO strongly recommends reducing the intake of free sugars, hoping for a reduction to <5% of daily calorie intake, and health policy interventions can help to achieve this goal by changing its free and uncontrolled use. KEY WORDS sugar; health; diabetes; sugar sweetened beverages; cardiovascular risk.