76 Ways Sugar Destroys Your Health

1. Sugar can suppress your immune system and impair your defenses against infectious disease.1,2

2. Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in your body: causes chromium and copper deficiencies and interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.3,4,5,6

3. Sugar can cause can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline, hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.7,8

4. Sugar can produce a significant rise in total cholesterol, triglycerides and bad cholesterol and a decrease in good cholesterol.9,10,11,12

5. Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function.13

6. Sugar feeds cancer cells and has been connected with the development of cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate, rectum, pancreas, biliary tract, lung, gallbladder and stomach.14,15,16,17,18,19,20

7. Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose and can cause reactive hypoglycemia.21,22

8. Sugar can weaken eyesight.23

9. Sugar can cause many problems with the gastrointestinal tract including: an acidic digestive tract, indigestion, malabsorption in patients with functional bowel disease, increased risk of Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.24,25,26,27,28

10. Sugar can cause premature aging.29

11. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.30

12. Sugar can cause your saliva to become acidic, tooth decay, and periodontal disease.31,32,33

13. Sugar contributes to obesity.34

14. Sugar can cause autoimmune diseases such as: arthritis, asthma, multiple sclerosis.35,36,37

15. Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections).38

16. Sugar can cause gallstones.39

17. Sugar can cause appendicitis.40

18. Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.41

19. Sugar can cause varicose veins.42

20. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users.43

21. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.44

22. Sugar can cause a decrease in your insulin sensitivity thereby causing an abnormally high insulin levels and eventually diabetes.45,46,47

23. Sugar can lower your Vitamin E levels.48

24. Sugar can increase your systolic blood pressure.49

25. Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.50

26. High sugar intake increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs)(Sugar molecules attaching to and thereby damaging proteins in the body).51

27. Sugar can interfere with your absorption of protein.52

28. Sugar causes food allergies.53

29. Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.54

30. Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.55

31. Sugar can cause atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.56,57

32. Sugar can impair the structure of your DNA.58

33. Sugar can change the structure of protein and cause a permanent alteration of the way the proteins act in your body.59,60

34. Sugar can make your skin age by changing the structure of collagen.61

35. Sugar can cause cataracts and nearsightedness.62,63

36. Sugar can cause emphysema.64

37. High sugar intake can impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in your body.65

38. Sugar lowers the ability of enzymes to function.66

39. Sugar intake is higher in people with Parkinson's disease.67

40. Sugar can increase the size of your liver by making your liver cells divide and it can increase the amount of liver fat.68,69

41. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney such as the formation of kidney stones.70,71

42. Sugar can damage your pancreas.72

43. Sugar can increase your body's fluid retention.73

44. Sugar is enemy #1 of your bowel movement.74

45. Sugar can compromise the lining of your capillaries.75

46. Sugar can make your tendons more brittle.76

47. Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.77

48. Sugar can reduce the learning capacity, adversely affect school children's grades and cause learning disorders.78,79

49. Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha, and theta brain waves which can alter your mind's ability to think clearly.80

50. Sugar can cause depression.81

51. Sugar can increase your risk of gout.82

52. Sugar can increase your risk of Alzheimer's disease.83

53. Sugar can cause hormonal imbalances such as: increasing estrogen in men, exacerbating PMS, and decreasing growth hormone.84,85,86,87

54. Sugar can lead to dizziness.88

55. Diets high in sugar will increase free radicals and oxidative stress.89

56. High sucrose diets of subjects with peripheral vascular disease significantly increases platelet adhesion.90

57. High sugar consumption of pregnant adolescents can lead to substantial decrease in gestation duration and is associated with a twofold increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant.91,92

58. Sugar is an addictive substance.93

59. Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol.94

60. Sugar given to premature babies can affect the amount of carbon dioxide they produce.95

61. Decrease in sugar intake can increase emotional stability.96

62. Your body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch.97

63. The rapid absorption of sugar promotes excessive food intake in obese subjects.98

64. Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).99

65. Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition.100

66. Sugar can slow down the ability of your adrenal glands to function.101

67. Sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual and to promote chronic degenerative diseases.102

68. I.V.s (intravenous feedings) of sugar water can cut off oxygen to your brain.103

69. Sugar increases your risk of polio.104

70. High sugar intake can cause epileptic seizures.105

71. Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese people.106

72. In intensive care units: Limiting sugar saves lives.107

73. Sugar may induce cell death.108

74. In juvenile rehabilitation camps, when children were put on a low sugar diet, there was a 44 percent drop in antisocial behavior.109

75. Sugar dehydrates newborns.110

76. Sugar can cause gum disease.111

References

1. Sanchez, A., et al. Role of Sugars in Human Neutrophilic Phagocytosis, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Nov 1973;261:1180_1184. Bernstein, J., al. Depression of Lymphocyte Transformation Following Oral Glucose Ingestion. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.1997;30:613

2. Ringsdorf, W., Cheraskin, E. and Ramsay R. Sucrose, Neutrophilic Phagocytosis and Resistance to Disease, Dental Survey. 1976;52(12):46_48.

3. Couzy, F., et al. "Nutritional Implications of the Interaction Minerals," Progressive Food and Nutrition Science 17;1933:65-87

4. Kozlovsky, A., et al. Effects of Diets High in Simple Sugars on Urinary Chromium Losses. Metabolism. June 1986;35:515_518.

5. Fields, M.., et al. Effect of Copper Deficiency on Metabolism and Mortality in Rats Fed Sucrose or Starch Diets, Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1983;113:1335_1345.

6. Lemann, J. Evidence that Glucose Ingestion Inhibits Net Renal Tubular Reabsorption of Calcium and Magnesium. Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1976 ;70:236_245.

7. Goldman, J., et al. Behavioral Effects of Sucrose on Preschool Children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology.1986;14(4):565_577.

8. Jones, T. W., et al. Enhanced Adrenomedullary Response and Increased Susceptibility to Neuroglygopenia: Mechanisms Underlying the Adverse Effect of Sugar Ingestion in Children. Journal of Pediatrics. Feb 1995;126:171-7.

9. Scanto, S. and Yudkin, J. The Effect of Dietary Sucrose on Blood Lipids, Serum Insulin, Platelet Adhesiveness and Body Weight in Human Volunteers, Postgraduate Medicine Journal. 1969;45:602_607.

10. Albrink, M. and Ullrich I. H. Interaction of Dietary Sucrose and Fiber on Serum Lipids in Healthy Young Men Fed High Carbohydrate Diets. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1986;43:419-428. Pamplona, R., et al. Mechanisms of Glycation in Atherogenesis. Med Hypotheses. Mar 1993;40(3):174-81.

11. Reiser, S. Effects of Dietary Sugars on Metabolic Risk Factors Associated with Heart Disease. Nutritional Health. 1985;203_216.

12. Lewis, G. F. and Steiner, G. Acute Effects of Insulin in the Control of Vldl Production in Humans. Implications for The insulin-resistant State. Diabetes Care. 1996 Apr;19(4):390-3 R. Pamplona, M. .J., et al. Mechanisms of Glycation in Atherogenesis. Medical Hypotheses. 1990;40:174-181.

13. Cerami, A., Vlassara, H., and Brownlee, M. "Glucose and Aging." Scientific American. May 1987:90. Lee, A. T. and Cerami, A. The Role of Glycation in Aging. Annals of the New York Academy of Science; 663:63-67.

14. Takahashi, E., Tohoku University School of Medicine, Wholistic Health Digest. October 1982:41:00

15. Quillin, Patrick, Cancer's Sweet Tooth, Nutrition Science News. Ap 2000 Rothkopf, M.. Nutrition. July/Aug 1990;6(4).

16. Michaud, D. Dietary Sugar, Glycemic Load, and Pancreatic Cancer Risk in a Prospective Study. J Natl Cancer Inst. Sep 4, 2002 ;94(17):1293-300.

17. Moerman, C. J., et al. Dietary Sugar Intake in the Etiology of Biliary Tract Cancer. International Journal of Epidemiology. Ap 1993.2(2):207-214.

18. The Edell Health Letter. Sept 1991;7:1.

19. De Stefani, E."Dietary Sugar and Lung Cancer: a Case control Study in Uruguay." Nutrition and Cancer. 1998;31(2):132_7.

20. Cornee, J., et al. A Case-control Study of Gastric Cancer and Nutritional Factors in Marseille, France. European Journal of Epidemiology 11 (1995):55-65.

21. Kelsay, J., et al. Diets High in Glucose or Sucrose and Young Women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1974;27:926_936. Thomas, B. J., et al. Relation of Habitual Diet to Fasting Plasma Insulin Concentration and the Insulin Response to Oral Glucose, Human Nutrition Clinical Nutrition. 1983; 36C(1):49_51.

22. Dufty, William. Sugar Blues. (New York:Warner Books, 1975).

23. Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica. Mar 2002;48;25. Taub, H. Ed. Sugar Weakens Eyesight, VM NEWSLETTER;May 1986:06:00

24. Dufty.

25. Yudkin, J. Sweet and Dangerous.(New York:Bantam Books,1974) 129

26. Cornee, J., et al. A Case-control Study of Gastric Cancer and Nutritional Factors in Marseille, France, European Journal of Epidemiology. 1995;11

27. Persson P. G., Ahlbom, A., and Hellers, G. Epidemiology. 1992;3:47-52.

28. Jones, T. W., et al. Enhanced Adrenomedullary Response and Increased Susceptibility to Neuroglygopenia: Mechanisms Underlying the Adverse Effect of Sugar Ingestion in Children. Journal of Pediatrics. Feb 1995;126:171-7.

29. Lee, A. T.and Cerami A. The Role of Glycation in Aging. Annals of the New York Academy of Science. 1992;663:63-70.

30. Abrahamson, E. and Peget, A. Body, Mind and Sugar. (New York Avon, 1977.)

31. Glinsmann, W., Irausquin, H., and Youngmee, K. Evaluation of Health Aspects of Sugar Contained in Carbohydrate Sweeteners. F. D. A. Report of Sugars Task Force. 1986:39:00 Makinen K.K.,et al. A Descriptive Report of the Effects of a 16_month Xylitol Chewing_gum Programme Subsequent to a 40_month Sucrose Gum Programme. Caries Research. 1998; 32(2)107_12.

32. Glinsmann, W., Irausquin, H., and K. Youngmee. Evaluation of Health Aspects of Sugar Contained in Carbohydrate Sweeteners. F. D. A. Report of Sugars Task Force.1986;39:36_38.