Gut microbiome shifts from sugary drinks tied to higher diabetes risk

By Dr. Sanchari Sinha Dutta, Ph.D.Reviewed by Benedette Cuffari, M.Sc.Feb 7 2025

In a recent study published in Cell Metabolism, researchers examine the association between sugar-sweetened beverage intake and gut microbiota-mediated changes in serum metabolite levels that may mitigate the risk of diabetes.

Study: Sugar-sweetened beverage intake, gut microbiota, circulating metabolites, and diabetes risk in Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. Image Credit: nednapa / Shutterstock.com

How do sugary drinks cause diabetes?

The intake of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes. In addition to diabetes itself, drinking sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with several factors that increase the risk of this metabolic disease, which include excessive weight gain, insulin resistance, inflammation, and dyslipidemia.

Various policies, regulations, and campaigns have been introduced in the U.S. to reduce the intake of sweetened beverages. Although these efforts have significantly reduced their intake, sugar-sweetened beverages contribute to 48% of total added sugar intake among U.S. adults.

Recent evidence suggests that sugar-sweetened beverage-mediated alterations in the composition of the gut microbiome may mitigate the association between sugar-sweetened beverage intake and diabetes risk. More specifically, fructose and glucose intake in several animal models led to reduced gut microbial diversity, lower fecal short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) levels, and greater proliferation of pro-inflammatory bacteria.

Despite these reports, few studies have integrated gut microbiome and blood metabolome data to examine the mechanisms involved in the association between diabetes risk and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption.   

About the study

In the current study, researchers investigate whether sugar-sweetened beverages alter gut microbiota composition and circulating metabolites and how these alterations are associated with metabolic traits and diabetes risk.

Certain minority groups in the U.S. are associated with greater sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and a higher diabetes burden. The current analysis selected the U.S. Hispanic/Latino population, using data obtained from the ongoing population-based Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.

The current study included 2,970 study participants with available gut microbiome data. To investigate the associations of serum metabolites with sugar-sweetened beverage intake and metabolic traits, 6,115 participants with both dietary and serum metabolite data were included in the analysis.

Important observations

The intake of sugar-sweetened beverages was associated with the altered abundance of nine gut microbial species, seven and two of which were negatively and positively associated with sugar-sweetened beverage intake, respectively. More specifically, sugar-sweetened beverage intake was found to reduce the abundance of SCFA-producing bacteria and increase the abundance of fructose- and glucose-utilizing Clostridium bolteae and Anaerostipes caccae.  

A total of 179 circulating metabolites were associated with the gut microbiota score, which was derived from these nine microbial species with altered abundance. Among these metabolites, 56 were associated with sugar-sweetened beverage intake, and the gut microbiota scored in consistent directions. These metabolites included glycerophospholipids, branched-chain amino acid derivatives, aromatic amino acid derivatives, and phenylsulfate derivatives.

Higher levels of glycerophospholipid and branched-chain amino acid metabolites were associated with worse metabolic traits. Comparatively, higher levels of aromatic amino acid metabolites and phenylsulfate metabolites were associated with more favorable metabolic traits.

Higher levels of glycerophospholipid and branched-chain amino acid metabolites, as well as lower levels of aromatic metabolites, were associated with a greater risk of incident diabetes during the study's follow-up period.

Study limitations

Notable limitations of the current study include the collection of gut microbiome samples and dietary data at different time points, which can lead to attenuation of the observed associations, as participants’ dietary habits and gut microbiome can change over time. Furthermore, the short follow-up duration of three years prevented the researchers from conclusively determining the association between gut microbiota and incident diabetes.

The metabolomics method utilized in the current study cannot measure all metabolites, including SCFAs, which are typically measured with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Additionally, the lack of analyses considering Hispanic/Latino background, sex, and socioeconomic status prevent the researchers from determining how these other factors may interact to influence the association between sugar-sweetened beverage intake, gut microbiome composition, and blood metabolite levels.

Future direction

The study findings highlight the potential role of gut microbiota and related circulating metabolite profiles in influencing the mechanisms involved in the association between sugar-sweetened beverage intake and the risk of diabetes. Nevertheless, additional studies from other demographic populations are needed to clarify the relationship between sugar-sweetened beverage intake, gut microbiota composition, circulating metabolite levels, and the risk of developing diabetes.

Previous studies investigating the association between sugar-sweetened beverage intake and gut microbiota composition have used 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) sequencing, which is not a high-throughput method and has low resolution. Comparatively, the researchers of the current study utilized shotgun metagenomic sequencing, which can even identify low-abundance bacteria and provide species-level taxonomic data.

Despite these differences, the study findings are in accordance with previous studies demonstrating that the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with a lower abundance of beneficial metabolite-producing bacteria and a higher abundance of bacteria that utilize glucose and fructose for growth. Furthermore, sugar-sweetened beverage-mediated abundance of certain bacteria was associated with changes in blood metabolite levels.

Although some of these metabolites were associated with worse metabolic traits and higher diabetes risk, these associations were attenuated after adjusting for the participant’s body mass index (BMI). Thus, the presence of obesity likely mediates the relationship between sugar-sweetened beverage intake, serum metabolites, and diabetes risk.