Is Sugar Toxic?
According to a recent study by the Environmental Working Group, one cup of the popular children’s cereal Kellogg’s Sugar Smacks contains more than fifty percent sugar, more than a Hostess Twinkie. The study found that the ten most sugary cereals had more than 40 percent sugar by weight. Two of the ten most sugary cereals are among the top ten bestselling cereals, including Cap’n Crunch, which contains 44.4 percent sugar, and Froot Loops, which contains 41.4 percent sugar by volume.
The Interagency Working Group on Foods Marketed to Children found that 40 percent of children’s diets consist of added sugars and unhealthy fats. Not only is it escalating childhood obesity and disease, recent research shows that it is damaging their brains.
As the epidemic of obesity expands in the US, the number of people with diabetes also rises. Diabetes occurs as a result of the body’s inability to maintain proper blood sugar levels. Over time, this creates serious health problems relating to the kidneys, heart, muscles, nerves and brain.
People with diabetes may be at a greater risk for dementia and other mental problems. Improving eating habits and maintaining a healthy weight may prevent many cases of diabetes.
Here’s the transcript from an interview on CBS News entitled Sugar:
(CBS News) If you are what you eat, then what does it mean that the average American consumes 130 pounds of sugar a year? Sanjay Gupta reports on new research showing that beyond weight gain, sugar can take a serious toll on your health, worsening conditions ranging from heart disease to cancer. Some physicians go so far as to call sugar a toxin.
The following script is from “Sugar” which aired on April 1, 2012. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is the correspondent. Denise Schrier Cetta and Sumi Aggarwal, producers.
The chances are good that sugar is a bigger part of your daily diet than you may realize which is why our story tonight is so important. New research coming out of some of America’s most respected institutions is starting to find that sugar, the way many people are eating it today, is a toxin and could be a driving force behind some of this country’s leading killers, including heart disease.
As a result of these findings, an anti-sugar campaign has sprung up, led by Dr. Robert Lustig, a California endocrinologist, who believes the consumption of added sugars has plunged America into a public health crisis.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Is sugar toxic?
Dr. Robert Lustig: I believe it is.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Do you ever worry that that’s– it just sounds a little bit over the top?
Dr. Robert Lustig: Sure. All the time. But it’s the truth.
Dr. Robert Lustig is a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco and a pioneer in what is becoming a war against sugar.
Motivated by his own patients — too many sick and obese children — Dr. Lustig has concluded that sugar, more than any other substance, is to blame.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta: What are all these various diseases that you say are linked to sugar?
Dr. Robert Lustig: Obesity, type II diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease itself.
Lustig says the American lifestyle is killing us.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta: And most of it you say is preventable?
Dr. Robert Lustig: Seventy-five percent of it is preventable.
While Dr. Lustig has published a dozen scientific articles on the evils of sugar, it was his lecture (published on YouTube), called “Sugar: The Bitter Truth,” that brought his message to the masses.
By “bad food” Dr. Lustig means the obvious things such as table sugar, honey, syrup, sugary drinks and desserts, but also just about every processed food you can imagine, where sugar is often hidden: yogurts and sauces, bread, and even peanut butter. And what about the man-made, often vilified sweetener, high fructose corn syrup?
Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Is it worse than just table sugar?
Dr. Robert Lustig: No. ’Cause it’s the exact same. They are basically equivalent. The problem is they’re both bad. They’re both equally toxic.
Since the 1970s, sugar consumption has gone down nearly 40 percent, but high fructose corn syrup has more than made up the difference. Dr. Lustig says they are both toxic because they both contain fructose — that’s what makes them sweet and irresistible.
Drs. Christiaan Janssens
CRO Akwa Wellness
Sources:
Robert H. Lustig, M.D., M.S.L.