Sugar

Sugar refers to any carbohydrate molecules with a sweet taste While the term sugar often refers to sucrose ("table sugar"), there are other sugars as well. Monosaccharides include fructose, glucose, and galactose. These monosaccharides can join and form disaccharides, such as sucrose (glucose and fructose joined together), maltose (two glucose molecules joined together), and lactose (glucose and galactose).

Health Impacts

In 2014, the World Health Organization was advised by scientific experts that added sugars should constitute no more than 5% of daily calories. "That would give a limit to the average man of a maximum of eight teaspoons a day and the average woman to six tea spoons a day. And that would include sugars from fruit juice and honey." (One teaspoon of sugar is approximately 4g.)

According to Dr. Andrew Weil:

"Carbohydrate foods also influence the inflammatory process. In the body, chemical reactions between the sugars and protein produce pro-inflammatory compounds called AGEs (advanced glycation end products). You can moderate this process by keeping blood sugar low and stable. That means eating less bread, white potatoes, crackers, chips and other snack foods, pastries, and sweetened drinks, less refined and processed foods, and by avoiding fast foods and products made with high fructose corn syrup. Instead, eat more whole grains, beans, sweet potatoes, winter squashes and other vegetables and temperate fruits such as berries, cherries, apples, and pears instead of tropical fruits such as bananas, pineapple, mango and papaya."

Articles and Resources

SourceWatch Resources

• Sugar Research Foundation, Inc.
• Alliance for Better Foods
• American Council for Fitness and Nutrition
• International Life Sciences Institute
• International Obesity Task Force
• Obesity PR
• Obesity Working Group
• Sugar industry

External Resources

• Paula Martinac, "USDA Recommended Sugar Intake," San Francisco Guardian.
• "An Expert Opinion: Is There Really "One Trick" to Losing Belly Fat?," Rush University Medical Center.
• Weng-Yew Wong and Lindsay Brown, "Induction of Metabolic Syndrome by Excess Fructose Consumption," Diabetic Cardiomyopathy: Advances in Biochemistry in Health and Disease Volume 9, 2014, pp 41-63.
• Andrew Weil, "Anti-Inflammatory Diet"
• Andrew Weil, "Insulin Resistance"
• Andrew Weil, "What's So Healthy About Juicing"

External Articles

2014:

• Aseem Malhotra, "Sugar is Now Enemy Number One in the Western Diet," The Guardian, January 11, 2014.
• Eliza Barclay, "Why Sugar Makes Us Feel So Good," The Salt, NPR, January 16, 2014.
• Eric Lipton, "Rival Industries Sweet Talk the Public," New York Times, February 11, 2014.
• Sharon Bernstein, "California Lawmaker Wants Warning Labels on Sugary Drinks," Reuters, February 13, 2014.
• Julia Llewellyn Smith, "The Man Who Tried to Warn Us About Sugar," Calgary Herald, February 13, 2014.
• Ana Djordjevic, Biljana Bursać, Nataša Veličković, Ana Vasiljević, and Gordana Matić, "The impact of different fructose loads on insulin sensitivity, inflammation, and PSA-NCAM-mediated plasticity in the hippocampus of fructose-fed male rats," Nutritional Neuroscience.

2013:

• Avshalom Leibowitz, Asia Rehman, Pierre Paradis and Ernesto L. Schiffrin, "Role of T Regulatory Lymphocytes in the Pathogenesis of High-Fructose Diet-Induced Metabolic Syndrome," Hypertension, March 25, 2013.
• "Consumption of Added Sugars Among U.S. Adults, 2005–2010, CDC, May 2013.
• "Specific sugar molecule causes growth of cancer cells," Science Daily, September 16, 2013.
• "Lower Blood Sugars May Be Good for the Brain," American Academy of Neurology, October 23, 2013.
• Dan Munro, "Sugar Linked To $1 Trillion In U.S. Healthcare Spending," Forbes, October 27, 2013.
• Débora Fernandes Rodrigues, Milene Cristina do Carmo Henriques, Marina Chaves Oliveira, Zélia Menezes-Garcia, Pedro Elias Marques, Danielle da Glória Souza, Gustavo Batista Menezes, Mauro Martins Teixeira, and Adaliene Versiani Matos Ferreira, "Acute intake of a high-fructose diet alters the balance of adipokine concentrations and induces neutrophil influx in the liver," Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, December 9, 2013.

2012:

• Lawrence de Koning, Vasanti S. Malik, Mark D. Kellogg, Eric B. Rimm, Walter C. Willett, and Frank B. Hu, "Sweetened Beverage Consumption, Incident Coronary Heart Disease, and Biomarkers of Risk in Men," February 8, 2012.
• Sara Novak, "6 Surprising Ways Your Diet Can Impact Your Mood," Discovery Fit and Health Blogs, February 16, 2012.
• Luc Tappy, and Kim-Anne Lêc "Does fructose consumption contribute to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease?," Clinics and Research in Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Volume 36, Issue 6, December 2012, Pages 554–560.
• Zhi-Hong Yang, Hiroko Miyahara, Jiro Takeo and Masashi Katayama, "Diet high in fat and sucrose induces rapid onset of obesity-related metabolic syndrome partly through rapid response of genes involved in lipogenesis, insulin signalling and inflammation in mice," Diabetology and Metabolic Syndrome, 2012.

2011:

• Tricia M. Nemoseck, Erin G. Carmody, Allison Furchner-Evanson, Marsa Gleason, Amy Li, Hayley Potter, Lauren M. Rezende, Kelly J. Lane, and Mark Kern, "Honey promotes lower weight gain, adiposity, and triglycerides than sucrose in rats," Nutrition Research, Volume 31, Issue 1, January 2011.
• Juan Zhou, Vladimir Cerny, and Christian Lehmann, "Fructose: The Sweet Poison, Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, March 2011.
• Carlos A. Roncal-Jimenez, Miguel A. Lanaspa, Christopher J. Rivard, Takahiko Nakagawa, L Gabriela Sanchez-Lozada, Diana Jalal, Ana Andres-Hernando, Katsuyuki Tanabe, Magdalena Madero, Nanxing Li, Christina Cicerchi, Kim Mc Fann, Yuri Y. Sautin, and Richard J Johnson, "Sucrose induces Fatty Liver and Pancreatic Inflammation in Male Breeder Rats Independent of Excess Energy Intake," Metabolism, April 12, 2011.
• Andrzej Brymora, Mariusz Flisiński, Richard J. Johnson, Grażyna Goszka, Anna Stefańska and Jacek Manitius, "Low-fructose diet lowers blood pressure and inflammation in patients with chronic kidney disease," Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, May 25, 2011.
• Isabelle Aeberli, Philipp A Gerber, Michel Hochuli, Sibylle Kohler, Sarah R Haile, Ioanna Gouni-Berthold, Heiner K Berthold, Giatgen A Spinas, and Kaspar Berneis, "Low to moderate sugar-sweetened beverage consumption impairs glucose and lipid metabolism and promotes inflammation in healthy young men: a randomized controlled trial," American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, June 15, 2011.
• Tao Ma, Bjørn Liaset, Qin Hao, Rasmus Koefoed Petersen, Even Fjære, Ha Thi Ngo, Haldis Haukås Lillefosse, Stine Ringholm, Si Brask Sonne, Jonas Thue Treebak, Henriette Pilegaard, Livar Frøyland, Karsten Kristiansen, and Lise Madsen, "Sucrose Counteracts the Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Fish Oil in Adipose Tissue and Increases Obesity Development in Mice," PLOS One, June 28, 2011.
• A Pan and FB Hu, "Effects of carbohydrates on satiety: differences between liquid and solid food," Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, July 2011.
• Thomas H. Frazier, John K. DiBaise, and Craig J. McClain, "Gut Microbiota, Intestinal Permeability, Obesity-Induced Inflammation, and Liver Injury," Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, August 1, 2011.
• Maria Maersk, Anita Belza, Hans Stødkilde-Jørgensen, Steffen Ringgaard, Elizaveta Chabanova, Henrik Thomsen, Steen B Pedersen, Arne Astrup, and Bjørn Richelsen, "Sucrose-sweetened beverages increase fat storage in the liver, muscle, and visceral fat depot: a 6-mo randomized intervention study," American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, December 28, 2011.

2009:

• Leone F Mattioli, Naomi B Holloway, James H Thomas, and John G Wood, "Fructose, but Not Dextrose, Induces Leukocyte Adherence to the Mesenteric Venule of the Rat by Oxidative Stress," Pediatric Research (2010) 67, 352–356; doi:10.1203/PDR.0b013e3181d00c41, November 20, 2009.

2008:

• Robert Dantzer, Jason C. O’Connor, Gregory G. Freund, Rodney W. Johnson, and Keith W. Kelley, "From inflammation to sickness and depression: when the immune system subjugates the brain," National Review of Neuroscience, January 2008.

2007:

• Nicole M. Avena, Pedro Rada, and Bartley G. Hoebel, "Evidence for sugar addiction: Behavioral and neurochemical effects of intermittent, excessive sugar intake," Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, Volume 32, Issue 1, 2008, Pages 20–39, May 18, 2007.
• Magalie Lenoir, Fuschia Serre, Lauriane Cantin, Serge H. Ahmed, "Intense Sweetness Surpasses Cocaine Reward," PLOS One, August 1, 2007.

2005:

• Lone B Sørensen, Anne Raben, Steen Stender, and Arne Astrup, "Effect of sucrose on inflammatory markers in overweight humans," American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, August 2005.

1980s:

• J. Yudkin and O. Eisa, "Dietary Sucrose and Oestradiol Concentration in Young Men," Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, Vol. 32, No. 2, 1988.
• John Yudkin, "Metabolic Changes Induced by Sugar in Relation to Coronary Heart Disease and Diabetes," Nutrition and Health, April 1987, vol. 5 no. 1-2 5-8.
• G Dulloo, OA Eisa, DS Miller, and J Yudkin, "A comparative study of the effects of white sugar, unrefined sugar and starch on the efficiency of food utilization and thermogenesis," American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1985.
• J Yudkin, S S Kang, and K R Bruckdorfer, "Effects of high dietary sugar," British Medical Journal, November 22, 1980.

1970s:

• Albert Sanchez, J. L. Reeser, H. S. Lau, P. Y. Yahiku, R. E. Willard, P. J. McMillan, S. Y. Cho, A. R. Magie, andbU. D. Register, "Role of sugars in human neutrophilic phagocytosis," American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, November 1973.
• K. R. Bruckdorfer, I. H. Khan and John Yudkin, "Fatty acid synthetase activity in the liver and adipose tissue of rats fed with various carbohydrates," Biochemical Journal, 1972.
• Ancel Keys, "Sucrose in the diet and coronary heart disease," Atherosclerosis, Volume 14, Issue 2, September–October 1971, Pages 193–202.

1960s:

• John Yudkin, Stephen Szanto, and V.V. Kakkar, "Sugar intake, serum insulin and platelet adhesiveness in men with and without peripheral vascular disease," Postgraduate Medical Journal, September 1969.
• Stephen Szanto and John Yudkin, "The effect of dietary sucrose on blood lipids, serum insulin, platelet adhesiveness and body weight in human volunteers," Postgraduate Medical Journal, September 1969.
• D. G. Bett, J. Morland, and J. Yudkin, "Sugar consumption in acne vulgaris and seborrhoeic dermatitis," British Medical Journal, July 15, 1967.
• John Yudkin and Jill Morland, "Sugar Intake and Myocardial Infarction," American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, May 1967, vol. 20 no. 5 503-506
• Sohair Al-Nagdy, D.S. Miller, R.U. Qureshi, and John Yudkin, "Metabolic Differences between Starch and Sucrose," Nature 209, 81 - 82 (01 January 1966); doi:10.1038/209081a0