Radar

The Effects of Sugar on Disease

Cardiovascular diseases: In the 1970's, in his book Sweet and Dangerous (Wyden, 1972), British physician John Yudkin pointed out that the countries with the highest incidence of heart disease are the ones with the highest sugar intake (such as Britain and the US), not those with high protein and fat consumption (such as the Masai and the Eskimo). His point of view got lost in the anti-fat craze, but it is still valid.

Dr. Gerald Reaven, an endocrinologist at Stanford University, points out that insulin regulates the production of triglycerides, which are a major predictor of heart disease. The higher the insulin, the higher the triglycerides, the blood pressure, and weight, and also the lower the HDL (good cholesterol) -- all of which contribute to cardiovascular problems.

Cancer: Well-known nutritionist Ann Louise Gittleman, author of Get the Sugar Out (Crown, 1996), says that while it isn’t known if sugar is directly involved in the causation of cancer, it is known that cancer cells feed on sugar. Therefore, for people with cancer, consuming a diet free of refined sugars would be highly advisable.

Immune impairment: Researchers at the Tokai University School of Medicine, in Japan, discovered that immune defense antibodies in diabetics incorporate sugar molecules in an abnormal fashion. Therefore, general immune defenses may be impaired in people whose blood sugar is abnormally high, making them susceptible to all kinds of infections including colds and problems of the reproductive tract.

Other health problems: There is little doubt that the consumption of sugar is related to caries. In addition, says nutritionist Gittleman, she’s found that sugar can either cause or contribute to alcoholism, allergies, candidiasis, bone loss, osteoporosis, hypertension, kidney stones, liver enlargement, menstrual problems, rheumatism, and ulcers, among others.

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