The development of the sugar industry in America began shortly after its discovery by Columbus, who reportedly brought sugarcane from the Canary Islands on his second voyage. For thousands of years, the human diet contained a relatively small amount of naturally occurring sugars that is fructose from fruits and other complex foods. Even today, The American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar for women and no more than 9 teaspoons per day for men.* It was not until the mid-19th century that "added sugars" became widely available and consumption began to increase dramatically.* All sugars are chemically indistinguishable; however, it is "added sugars" that have been more often associated with adverse health effects, given they are sourced from foods that are energy-dense and nutrient- and phytochemical-poor.* Today, most American adults and children consume more added sugar than is recommended for a healthy diet. Excessive sugar consumption increases blood glucose levels which leads to many of the following health problems including obesity and type 2 diabetes, which are occurring at epidemic rates in the U.S.* Diabetes and obesity are found to be responsible for nearly 800,000 cancers worldwide.* Due to the alarming rates of obesity in particular and its health risks, today's children are expected to live shorter lives than their parents.**
Cancer - It is known that when you eat a lot of sugar, you have a tendency to become more obese and obesity is linked to a higher risk of cancer.* Cancer and diabetes are diagnosed within the same individual more frequently than would be expected by chance, even after adjusting for age. Both diseases are complex.* Nearly two-thirds of obesity-related cancers, which include colon, rectum, ovary, and womb cancers, occur in North America and Europe.* Recent research from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has found that refined sugar not only significantly increases your risk of breast cancer, it also raises your risk of tumors spreading to other organs.** Postmenopausal women who reported the highest intake of sugar-sweetened beverages had a 78 percent increased risk for estrogen-dependent type I endometrial cancer (the most common type).* Cancer cells use vast amounts of glucose for energy and for building blocks for cell replication that is cancer cells require sugars to grow. Hyperactive sugar consumption of cancerous cells leads to a vicious cycle of continued stimulation of cancer development and growth.**
Cavities - Of all sugar's potential ills, the connection between sugar and cavities is perhaps the best established. A diet high in sugars will promote processes such as demineralization and caries (term for tooth decay or cavities).* A study back in1967 called sugar the "arch criminal" behind cavities. Tooth decay occurs when the bacteria that line the teeth feed on simple sugars, creating acid that destroys enamel. When you eat something sweet, it takes the bacteria about 20 seconds to convert it to acid, which then lasts for about 30 minutes.*
Depression - By way of many different mechanisms, numerous studies have linked high-sugar diets to a higher risk of depression.***** Sugar is increasingly linked to cellular inflammation which more evidence is revealing as a likely culprit in the onset of depression.** Longitudinal studies have associated the consumption of sweetened beverages, refined foods, and pastries with an increased risk of depression.** A 2004 cross-cultural analysis of the relationship between diet and mental illness found a strong link between high sugar consumption and the risk for depression and schizophrenia.* High blood glucose levels (sugar) are shown to elevate glutamate - a neurotransmitter in the brain - which is associated with depression and low cognitive function.*** Women with diabetes have a 29% higher risk of depression, and women taking insulin have a 53% higher risk of depression as compared with women without diabetes.*
Type 2 Diabetes (& Pre-diabetes) - Type 2 diabetes is a disease in which blood sugar is high and levels of insulin, the hormone the body uses to manage blood sugar, begins to rise because the body becomes resistant to its effects. High consumption of sugar causes insulin resistance (or metabolic syndrome) which can lead to pre-diabetes and diabetes.**** Results from a large epidemiological study conducted at University California San Francisco suggest that sugar may have a direct, independent (from obesity) link to diabetes.* Having a higher blood sugar and having a higher level of insulin in your system are also linked to the risk of developing cancer.* Diabetes and cancer are diagnosed within the same individual more frequently than would be expected by chance, even after adjusting for age. Both diseases are complex.*
Heart Disease - A significant relationship between added sugar consumption and increased risk for cardiovascular disease mortality.* A high sugar diet may raise your risk of dying of heart disease even if you are not overweight. The odds of dying from heart disease was shown to rise in tandem with the percentage of sugar in the diet, and that was true regardless of a person's age, sex, physical activity level, and body-mass index (BMI).* Added sugar eaten the equivalent of 46 teaspoons (think 'big gulp & candy bar') can triple the risk of heart disease.* Even in healthy people, high amounts of sugar can alter your fat metabolism in ways that are associated with an elevated risk of heart attacks, strokes, and general cardiovascular disease.*
Hypertension - High blood pressure is an independent major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Reduced consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and sugar was significantly associated with reduced blood pressure.**
Inflammation - Cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes account for almost 70% of all deaths in the U.S.; these diseases share "inflammation" as a common link.* High sugar consumption can cause inflammation which increases the risk of atherosclerosis, heart disease, diabetes, increased gut permeability, cancer, and depression. Diets that promote inflammation are high in refined starches, sugar, saturated and trans-fats.* Sugars and refined starches can rapidly alter blood glucose and insulin levels.* Chronic inflammation is one of the primary metabolic changes linked to excessive caloric intake.*
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) - Added sugars in food and sugar-sweetened beverages are linked to the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and dyslipidemia (low HDL cholesterol and high triglyceride levels).***
Obesity - People are considered overweight if they have a body mass index (BMI) over 25 and obese with a BMI over 30. Obesity is a multisystem condition associated with an elevated risk of type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, cancer, and other complications.** Obesity is responsible for an estimated 500,000 cancer cases worldwide each year.* The prevalence of obesity among adults in the U.S. increased by approximately 50 percent per decade throughout the 1980s and 1990s.* Two thirds of adults in the U.S. are obese or overweight. Obesity has affected all major racial and ethnic groups, all regions of the country, and all socioeconomic strata,* with the largest increases in obesity occurring among children and minorities.* About one in three children are obese or overweight.* Overweight children often become overweight adults,* and overweight in adulthood is a health risk.* Immediate consequences of overweight in childhood are often psychosocial and also include diabetes, oxidative stress that causes cancer, cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, high cholesterol levels, stroke, and abnormal glucose tolerance.*** One of the largest studies conducted has found a clear link between sugar consumption and obesity suggesting the strongest evidence yet that high sugar consumption should be seriously considered as a contributor to the obesity pandemic.* Both sugar and overeating in general cause mitochondrial dysfunction which can lead to DNA damage and result in cancer.*
WORST SUGAR OFFENDERS
Refined or "added sugars" and "high-fructose corn syrup" have zero nutritional value. They do not come with any protein, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants or fiber. They are considered empty calories providing no benefit to your health.
Sugar-sweetened beverages - Research shows consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks may lead to an estimated 184,000 adult deaths each year worldwide.* The increase in consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages - soda, fruit punch, fruit drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks, sweet tea, other sugary drinks - has been identified as an important contributor to the epidemic of obesity, heart disease, and cancer worldwide* Sugar-sweetened beverages are associated with higher blood pressure levels. Adults with high sodium intake had an even stronger association between sugar-sweetened beverages and high blood pressure.** Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption was found to increase endometrial cancer risk.*
High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) - This is the number one source of calories in the standard American diet. HFCS is much sweeter and cheaper than regular sugar and is in the majority of processed food. The chemical process used to make high fructose corn syrup involves separating the glucose and fructose that are naturally bound together. This allows the free fructose to go directly into your liver which turns on a factory of fat production called lipogenesis that can lead to fatty liver which then leads to cirrhosis. This type of cirrhosis kills nearly 10 times the number of people than alcoholic cirrhosis does. The dangers of HFCS leads to several metabolic disturbances that drive increases in appetite, weight gain, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, strokes, cancer, dementia, and more. Cancer cells are found to feed on high-fructose corn syrup.**
High-fructose corn syrup should be totally eliminated from everyone's diet. It is toxic to the body and contains chemicals such as chlor-alkali which is used during manufacturing. Chlor-alkai contains mercury. Trace amounts of mercury can be found in high fructose corn syrup-containing beverages.* Mercury is widely accepted to be a neurotoxic heavy metal.* The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that minimizing any form of mercury exposure is essential for optimal child health and nervous system development.*
SUGAR ADDICTION & its detrimental effect on the body & brain
We know that alcohol, caffeine, and cigarettes are addictive and contribute to numerous health problems including disease and cancer. Research shows that sugar is no different as far as the ability to become addictive.
In the American diet, there are two types of sugars: naturally-occurring sugars and added sugars. As a major contributor to the development of numerous serious health conditions and disease, "added sugar" is one of the worst and most toxic ingredients in the Western diet. In a unique study, described in Obesity, Dr. Robert H. Lustig, pediatric endocrinologist, and his colleagues believe they have produced the “hard and fast data that sugar is toxic irrespective of its calories and irrespective of weight". Per Dr. Lustig, “Up until now there have been a lot of correlation studies linking sugar and metabolic syndrome.This is causation." *