Who doesn’t love the sweet taste of sugar? Commonly associated with love, affection, comfort and even rewards for doing good things, sweet treats have become a physical and emotional addiction in our culture and the health effects are numerous.

White refined sugar is a dangerous substance that is stripped of vitamins and minerals, leaving our bodies with the extra work of metabolizing them without receiving any benefit in return.

Health Risks of Sugar

Sugar consumption is a risk factor in many serious, debilitating and life-threatening conditions. We consume, on average, close to 120 pounds of sugar a year and the health risks of this are numerous.

Diabetes

Sugar in both food and drinks is linked to an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes(1).
Type 2 diabetes was once considered an adult disease. In 1980, there were virtual no pediatric cases of diabetes. In 2010, there were 57,636.

Obesity

Excess sugar promotes weight gain and obesity(2).
More than a third of US adults are obese. Obesity-related conditions like diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some cancers are considered preventable(3).

Cardiovascular Disease

Excess sugar consumption – especially fructose, high-fructose corn syrup and sugary beverages – are associated with and increased risk of hypertension, dyslipidemia, inflammation, coronary heart disease and stroke(4).

Cavities

Sugar is linked to an increased risk of cavities(5).
The World Health Organization recommends that 5% of calories daily should come from sugar.
A study following children from age 6 to age 18 found that kids who ate more sugar developed more cavities(6).

Mood/Brain Behaviour

Sugar is associated with depression and mood disorders(7).
Sugar impairs the brain’s ability to learn and remember(8).

Hormone Imbalance

Sugar alters our levels of insulin and also our adrenal hormones.

Nutrient Depletion

Sugar strips of us nutrients but doesn’t offer us much in return.
Sugary foods have empty calories that leave us depleted(9).

Gut Microbiome

Sugar interferes with our gut bacteria balance(10).
Our gut microbiome helps to support digestion, immunity, brain health and more.

Cancer

Sugar inhibits our immune system function.
Sugar is associated with a higher risk of certain cancers (more below).

Sugar and Cancer: A Closer Look

Our immune system is designed to protect our bodies from invaders and foreign materials, as well as from any abnormal developments that occur inside of us. A strong immune system is essential to both preventing and battling cancer (if it occurs). Unfortunately, sugar consumption suppresses our immune system, potentially leaving us susceptible to immune-mediated diseases like cancer.

New, groundbreaking research published in 2017 in the journal Nature discovered sugar triggers cancer cell growth and actually helps them multiply much more quickly(11). At long last, this was considered clear-cut evidence for the sugar and cancer link, but for those of us who have been in the functional medicine or holistic health field for a while, this data has been building for a long time.

Some of the evidence linking sugar to specific cancers includes:

Colon Cancer

A study of over 35,000 US residents found that sucrose consumption was linked to colon cancer(12).
Similarly, another investigation(13) concluded that dietary sugars – especially foods high in simple carbohydrates – boosted the risk of colon cancer.

Prostate Cancer

In an analysis of more than 8,000 healthy men(14), researchers found that eating refined carbohydrates may increase the risk of prostate cancer.
Another study concluded that refined cereals and sugars boosted prostate cancer risk(15).
Other evidence indicates that sugar increases the levels of estradiol in men(16), which can also contribute to the development of prostate cancer.

Ovarian Cancer

Some evidence indicates that foods that have a high glycemic load may boost the risk of ovarian cancer(17).
Inflammatory foods have been linked to a risk of ovarian cancer(18), and sugar is definitely in the inflammatory category.

Breast Cancer

In the early 1980s, scientists began identifying the link between sugar and breast cancer, noting that women had an increased risk of mortality with sugar consumption(19).
Later research concludes that dietary sugar and eating sweets, such as desserts and sugary drinks, can increase the risk of breast cancer(20) and instigate an enzymatic pathway(21) that leads to mammary tumor growth.

Pancreatic Cancer

Our pancreas is an essential organ that helps us produce insulin and balance our blood sugar levels.
Excess sugar can send our pancreatic hormones into disarray, and high glycemic foods can increase our risk of pancreatic cancer(22).
A prospective study of nearly 800 men and women showed that sugary foods were associated with a higher risk of pancreatic cancer(23).
Diabetes is one of the most common disorders of the pancreas, and research indicates that there may be a link between diabetes and pancreatic cancer(24).

Gastric Cancer

In a controlled study of 92 people in France, consumption of cakes, pastries and candy was associated with an increased risk for gastric cancer(25).

Biliary Cancer (Liver + Gallbladder)

A large study of over 70,000 men examined sugary beverage consumption and found that sweetened drinks led to a higher risk of gallbladder cancer(26).
Another analysis of 477,206 people from 10 European countries discovered a link between soft drinks and hepatocellular carcinoma(27).
Yet another meta-analysis found that elevated blood sugar levels increases our risk of liver cancer(28).

How to Eliminate Refined Sugars

Read Labels. Sugar is everywhere, particularly in packaged and processed foods. We can even find it in savory items like bread or canned tomatoes where we may not expect added sugars. Get into the habit of reading the ingredient lists on what you buy and choosing options that don’t have sugar added to them.

Choose whole foods. Vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans, legumes, eggs, fish, meat and poultry and gluten-free grains are all part of a blood sugar stabilizing diet. Even items that have a sweet taste, like fruit, are going to have fibre and other nutrients that support our health

Focus on low-glycemic foods. Consult the glycemic index to determine how quickly a food will impact your blood sugar.

Ensure blood sugar balance with protein, fibre and fat. These three elements are key to helping us feel full and ensuring a slow release of sugar into the bloodstream. Design your meals to include good sources of protein (or protein powder if necessary) and healthy fats.

Things to Think About

How much sugar do you consume?
What products do you consume that might be sweetened?
Have you ever eliminated sugar completely?

Functional Reset Goals

Do a “sugar detox”. Remove all sources of sugar from your kitchen.
Commit to eliminating added sweeteners for 1 month 100%.

References:

1. Dinicolantonio, James J., et al. “Added Fructose: A Principal Driver of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Its Consequences.” Mayo Clinic Proceedings, vol. 90, no. 3, Mar. 2015, pp. 372–381., doi:10.1016/j.mayocp.2014.12.019.

2. Stanhope, Kimber L. “Sugar Consumption, Metabolic Disease and Obesity: The State of the Controversy.” Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences, vol. 53, no. 1, 2015, pp. 52–67., doi:10.3109/10408363.2015.1084990.

3. “Overweight & Obesity: Adult Obesity Facts.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5 Mar. 2018, www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html.

4. Malik, Vasanti. “Fructose and Cardiometabolic Health: What the Evidence from Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Tells Us.” J Am Coll Cardio, 6 Oct. 2015, pp. 1615–1624.

5. Moynihan, P. “Sugars and Dental Caries: Evidence for Setting a Recommended Threshold for Intake.” Advances in Nutrition: An International Review Journal, vol. 7, no. 1, Jan. 2016, pp. 149–156., doi:10.3945/an.115.009365.

6. Peres, M.a., et al. “Sugar Consumption and Changes in Dental Caries from Childhood to Adolescence.” Journal of Dental Research, vol. 95, no. 4, Dec. 2016, pp. 388–394., doi:10.1177/0022034515625907.

7. Knuppel, Anika, et al. “Sugar Intake from Sweet Food and Beverages, Common Mental Disorder and Depression: Prospective Findings from the Whitehall II Study.” Scientific Reports, vol. 7, no. 1, 2017, doi:10.1038/s41598-017-05649-7.

8. Molteni, R, et al. “A High-Fat, Refined Sugar Diet Reduces Hippocampal Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, Neuronal Plasticity, and Learning.” Neuroscience, vol. 112, no. 4, 2002, pp. 803–814., doi:10.1016/s0306-4522(02)00123-9.

9. Dinicolantonio, James J, and Amy Berger. “Added Sugars Drive Nutrient and Energy Deficit in Obesity: a New Paradigm.” Open Heart, vol. 3, no. 2, 2016, doi:10.1136/openhrt-2016-000469.

10. Conlon, Michael, and Anthony Bird. “The Impact of Diet and Lifestyle on Gut Microbiota and Human Health.” Nutrients, vol. 7, no. 1, 2014, pp. 17–44., doi:10.3390/nu7010017.

11. Peeters, Ken, et al. “Fructose-1,6-Bisphosphate Couples Glycolytic Flux to Activation of Ras.”Nature Communications, vol. 8, no. 1, 13 Oct. 2017, doi:10.1038/s41467-017-01019-z.

12. Bostick, Roberd M., et al. “Sugar, Meat, and Fat Intake, and Non-Dietary Risk Factors for Colon Cancer Incidence in Iowa Women (United States).” Cancer Causes & Control, vol. 5, no. 1, 30 June 1994, pp. 38–52., doi:10.1007/bf01830725.

13. Slattery, ML, et al. “Send to Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. .” Send to Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. , vol. 6, no. 9, Sept. 1997, pp. 677–85.

14. Drake, Isabel, et al. “Dietary Intakes of Carbohydrates in Relation to Prostate Cancer Risk: a Prospective Study in the Malmo Diet and Cancer Cohort.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 96, no. 6, 7 Nov. 2012, pp. 1409–1418., doi:10.3945/ajcn.112.039438.

15. Rosato, Valentina, et al. “Nutrient-Based Dietary Patterns and Prostate Cancer Risk: a Case Control Study from Italy.” Cancer Causes & Control, vol. 25, no. 4, 11 Apr. 2014, pp. 525–532., doi:10.1007/s10552-014-0356-8.

16. Nelles, Jason L, et al. “Estrogen Action and Prostate Cancer.” Expert Review of Endocrinology & Metabolism, vol. 6, no. 3, May 2011, pp. 437–451., doi:10.1586/eem.11.20.

17. Silvera, Stephanie An, et al. “Glycaemic Index, Glycaemic Load and Ovarian Cancer Risk: a Prospective Cohort Study.” Public Health Nutrition, vol. 10, no. 10, 2 Oct. 2007, doi:10.1017/s1368980007696360.

18. Shivappa, Nitin, et al. “Dietary Inflammatory Index and Ovarian Cancer Risk in a Large Italian Case Control Study.” Cancer Causes & Control, vol. 27, no. 7, 4 July 2016, pp. 897–906., doi:10.1007/s10552-016-0767-9.

19. Seely, Stephen, and David F Horrobin. “Diet and Breast Cancer: The Possible Connection with Sugar Consumption.” Medical Hypotheses, vol. 11, no. 3, 1983, pp. 319–327., doi:10.1016/0306-9877(83)90095-6.

20. Bradshaw, Patrick T., et al. “Consumption of Sweet Foods and Breast Cancer Risk: a Case Control Study of Women on Long Island, New York.” Cancer Causes & Control, vol. 20, no. 8, 23 Oct. 2009, pp. 1509–1515., doi:10.1007/s10552-009-9343-x.

21. Jiang, Yan, et al. “Abstract 3735: Dietary Sugar Induces Tumorigenesis in Mammary Gland Partially through 12 Lipoxygenase Pathway.” Cancer Research, vol. 75, no. 15 Supplement, 1 Aug. 2015, pp. 3735–3735., doi:10.1158/1538-7445.am2015-3735.

22. Michaud, D. S. “Dietary Sugar, Glycemic Load, and Pancreatic Cancer Risk in a Prospective Study.” CancerSpectrum Knowledge Environment, vol. 94, no. 17, 4 Sept. 2002, pp. 1293–1300., doi:10.1093/jnci/94.17.1293.

23. Larsson, Susanna C, et al. “Consumption of Sugar and Sugar-Sweetened Foods and the Risk of Pancreatic Cancer in a Prospective Study.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 84, no. 5, 1 Nov. 2006, pp. 1171–1176., doi:10.1093/ajcn/84.5.1171.

24. Li, Donghui. “Diabetes and Pancreatic Cancer.” Mol Carcinog, vol. 51, no. 1, Jan. 2012, pp. 64–74.

25. Cornee, Jacqueline, et al. “A Case-Control Study of Gastric Cancer and Nutritional Factors in Marseille, France.” European Journal of Epidemiology, vol. 11, no. 1, Feb. 1995, pp. 55–65., doi:10.1007/bf01719946.

26. Larsson, Susanna C., et al. “Sweetened Beverage Consumption and Risk of Biliary Tract and Gallbladder Cancer in a Prospective Study.” Journal of the National Cancer Institute, vol. 108, no. 10, 8 June 2016, doi:10.1093/jnci/djw125.

27. Stepien, M, et al. “Consumption of Soft Drinks and Juices and Risk of Liver and Biliary Tract Cancers in a European Cohort.” Eur J Nutr., vol. 55, no. 1, Jan. 2016, pp. 7–20., doi:10.1007/s00394-014-0818-5.

28. Han, Hedong, et al. “Blood Glucose Concentration and Risk of Liver Cancer: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies.” Oncotarget, vol. 8, no. 30, 4 July 2017, doi:10.18632/oncotarget.16816.

Reading: Health Risks of Sugar

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