Is Sugar Toxic?

FACTOID: Sugar activates our brain in a special way that’s reminiscent of drugs like cocaine.

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On April 1, 2012 CBS News’ 60 Minutes aired an awesome segment called: Is Sugar Toxic? The information it provided is in fact not news, but something myself and other natural health professionals have been telling people for years. It’s great to see it finally being voiced through the mainstream media!

Following are some highlights from the show:

New research shows that beyond weight gain, sugar is a toxin and could be a driving force behind some of this country’s leading killers, ranging from heart disease to cancer.

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.

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.

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.

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Americans now consume 130 pounds of sugar per person a year — that’s a third of a pound every day.

And what about the man-made, often vilified sweetener, high fructose corn syrup? Is it worse than just table sugar? According to Dr. Robert Lustig: they’re both bad. They’re both equally toxic.

Studies done at the University of California, Davis are starting to back him up. An ongoing groundbreaking, five-year study which has already shown strong evidence linking excess high fructose corn syrup consumption to an increase in risk factors for heart disease and stroke. That suggests calories from added sugars are different than calories from other foods.

Subjects who consumed high fructose corn syrup had increased blood levels of dangerous LDL cholesterol and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease. This idea that sugar increases this particularly bad LDL, most doctors don’t know this. This is new.

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And it turns out, sugar has become a major focus in cancer research too.

Lewis Cantley, a Harvard professor, says when we eat or drink sugar, it can serve as a catalyst to fuel certain types of cancers — including breast and colon cancers.

Lewis Cantley’s research team is working on developing drugs that will cut off the glucose supply to cancer cells and keep them from growing. But until there’s a breakthrough, Cantley’s advice? Don’t eat sugar. And if you must, keep it to a minimum.

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Sugar is also much more addictive than we realized.

Sugar activates our brain in a special way that’s reminiscent of drugs like cocaine.

People who frequently drink sodas or eat ice cream or other sweet foods may be building up a tolerance, much like drug users do. That means the more you eat, the less you feel the reward. The result: you eat more than ever.

Dr. Lustig co-authored an American Heart Association report recommending men should consume no more than 150 calories of added sugars a day. And women, just 100 calories. That’s less than the amount in just one can of soda!

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