141 Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health
The following list was contributed by Nancy Appleton, Ph.D.
She is also the author of the book "Lick The Sugar Habit". In addition to throwing off the body's homeostasis, excess sugar may result in a number of other significant consequences. The following is a listing of some of sugar's metabolic consequences from a variety of medical journals and other scientific publications.
1. Sugar can suppress the immune system.
2. Sugar can upset the body's mineral balance.
3. Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, concentration difficulties, and crankiness in children.
4. Sugar produces significant triglyceride rise.
5. Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against bacterial infection.
6. Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function; the more sugar the more elasticity you lose.
7. Sugar can reduce helpful high density cholesterol (HDLs).
8. Sugar leads to chromium deficiency.
9. Sugar leads to cancer of the ovaries.
10. Sugar increases fasting levels of blood glucose.
11. Sugar causes copper deficiency.
12. Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
13. Sugar may make eyes more vulnerable to age-related macular degeneration.
14. Sugar raises the level of neurotransmitters: dopamine, seratonin and norepinephrine.
15. Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.
16. Sugar produces an acidic digestive tract.
17. Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline levels in children.
18. Sugar malabsorption is frequent in patients with functional bowel disease.
19. Sugar can cause premature aging.
20. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.
21. Sugar can cause tooth decay.
22. Sugar contributes to obesity.
23. Sugar increases the risk of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
24. Sugar can cause changes frequently found in people with gastric or duodenal ulcers.
25. Sugar can cause arthritis.
26. Sugar can cause asthma.
27. Sugar assists uncontrolled yeast growth.
28. Sugar can cause gallstones.
29. Sugar can cause heart disease.
30. Sugar can cause appendicitis.
31. Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.
32. Sugar can cause varicose veins.
33. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users.
34. Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.
35. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
36. Sugar contributes to saliva acidity.
37. Sugar causes insulin sensitivity decrease.
38. Sugar can lower Vitamin E in the blood.
39. Sugar can decrease growth hormone.
40. Sugar can increase total cholesterol.
41. Sugar can increase blood pressure.
42. High sugar intake increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs).
43. Sugar can interfere with protein absorption.
44. Sugar causes food allergies.
45. Sugar can contribute to diabetes.
46. Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
47. Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.
48. Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.
49. Sugar can impair the structure of DNA.
50. Sugar can change structure of protein.
51. Sugar can make our skin age by changing the structure of collagen.
52. Sugar can cause cataracts.
53. Sugar can cause emphysema.
54. Sugar can cause atherosclerosis.
55. Sugar can promote an elevation of LDL's.
56. High sugar intake can impair the physiological homeostasis of many body systems.
57. Sugar lowers our enzymatic function.
58. High sugar intake is linked with Parkinson's.
59. Sugar can cause liver cells to divide, increasing the size of the liver.
60. Sugar can increase the amount of fat in the liver.
61. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney.
62. Sugar can overstress the pancreas, causing damage.
63. Sugar can increase the body's fluid retention.
64. Sugar is enemy #1 of bowel movement.
65. Sugar can cause myopia (nearsightedness).
66. Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries.
67. Sugar can make the tendons more brittle.
68. Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.
69. Sugar has a role in female pancreatic cancer.
70. Sugar can cause learning disorders.
71. Sugar can cause depression.
72. Sugar increases the risk of gastric cancer.
73. Sugar can cause dyspepsia (indigestion).
74. Sugar can increase risk of getting gout.
75. Sugar can increase levels of glucose over the ingestion of complex carbohydrates.
76. Sugar can increase insulin responses in those consuming high-sugar diets compared to low sugar diets.
77. Refined sugar reduces learning capacity.
78. Sugar can cause less effective functioning of blood proteins (albumin and lipoproteins) reducing our ability to handle fat and cholesterol.
79. Sugar can contribute to Alzheimers Disease.
80. Sugar can cause platelet adhesiveness.
81. Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance; some become underactive, others become overactive.
82. Sugar leads to kidney stone formation.
83. Sugar causes free radicals, oxidative stress.
84. High sugar diet leads to biliary tract cancer.
85. High sugar consumption by pregnant adolescents is associated with a twofold increased risk for a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant.
86. High sugar leads to substantial decrease in gestation duration of adolescents.
87. Sugar slows foods travel time through the gastrointestinal tract.
88. Sugar increases concentration of bile acids in stools and bacterial enzymes in colon, producing cancer-causing compounds and colon cancer.
89. Sugar increases estradiol (estrogen) in men.
90. Sugar combines with and destroys phosphatase, making digestion more difficult.
91. Sugar is risk factor in gallbladder cancer.
92. Sugar is an addictive substance.
93. Sugar can be intoxicating, like alcohol.
94. Sugar can exacerbate PMS.
95. Sugar given to premature babies affects the amount of carbon dioxide they produce.
96. Decrease sugar to increase emotional stability.
97. The rapid absorption of sugar promotes excessive food intake in obese subjects.
98. Sugar can worsen symptoms of ADHD.
99. Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition.
100. Sugar slows the ability of the adrenals.
101. I.V's (intravenous feedings) of sugar water can cut off oxygen to the brain.
102. High sucrose risk factor in lung cancer.
103. Sugar increases the risk of polio.
104. High sugar can cause epileptic seizures.
105. Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese.
106. In ICU limiting sugar saves lives.
107. Sugar may induce cell death.
108. Sugar increases amount of food that you eat.
109. In juvenile rehabilitation camps, when children were put on a low sugar diet, there was a 44% drop in antisocial behavior.
110. Sugar can lead to prostate cancer.
111. Sugar dehydrates newborns.
112. Sugar causes low birth weight babies.
113. Greater consumption of sugar is associated with a worse outcome of schizophrenia.
114. Sugar raises homocysteine levels in blood.
115. Sweet foods increase breast cancer risk.
116. Sugar increases small intestine cancer.
117. Sugar may cause laryngeal cancer.
118. Sugar induces salt and water retention.
119. Sugar contributes to mild memory loss.
120. One tablespoon of sugar does the same amount of damage in the blood as if you smoked two packs of cigarettes.
121. If sugar were new and presented to the FDA today it would have to be classified as a drug based on how addictive it is and what it does to the body.
122. Exposing a newborn to sugar results in heightened preference for sucrose relative to water.
123. Sugar causes constipation.
124. Sugar causes varicose veins.
125. Sugar can cause brain decay in prediabetic and diabetic women.
126. Sugar can increase risk of stomach cancer.
127. Sugar can cause metabolic syndrome.
128. Sugar ingestion by pregnant women increases neural tube defects in embryos.
129. Sugar can be a factor in asthma.
130. The higher the sugar consumption the more chances of getting irritable bowel syndrome.
131. Sugar can affect the brain's ability to deal with rewards and consequences.
132. Sugar can cause cancer of the rectum.
133. Sugar can cause endometrial cancer.
134. Sugar can cause renal cell carcinoma.
135. Sugar can cause liver tumors.
136. Sugar can increase inflammatory markers in the blood stream of overweight people.
137. Sugar plays a role in continuation of acne.
138. Too much sugar can kill your sex life.
139. Sugar saps school performance in children.
140. Sugar can cause fatigue, moodiness and nervousness.
141. Sugar adds to the risk of bladder cancer.
