The Sour Side of Sugar

[Guest guest]

THE SOUR SIDE OF SUGAR

 

Lauri M. Aesoph

 

Candy canes and colds. Those are my husband's memories of Christmas.

Whenever we reminisce about our childhoods, my husband delights in

raving about his mother's talent for baking. Weak-kneed at the

remembrance of her weekly desserts, his eyes glaze over when he

describes her Yuletide pantry of sugar-laced divinity cookies, plum

pudding, gooey strawberry treats and brownies.

 

He also recalls her attentiveness during his regular bouts with

holiday colds and flu. Tall, cool glasses of ginger ale and frosty

popsicles were served to strengthen and soothe him during his

suffering. But unbeknownst to his mother--and caretakers everywhere--

sugar, a common comfort for the ailing, invites, rather than eases,

the throes of illness. Sugar isn't as sweet as it seems.

 

Everyone knows that eating too much sugar is associated with tooth

decay and gaining weight. However, according to scientific research,

sugar's health effects reach well beyond your teeth and belly. Too

many sweets may increase your risk of Crohn's disease (1) and heart

disease (2), up uric acid levels (associated with gout) (2), promote

diabetes (3), jack up your appetite (4) and could even take years

off your life (5). There's also evidence that sugar greatly impacts

one of the most important systems of your body--the immune system.

 

Killing Me Slowly With Sugar

 

The immune system is the body's protective force against foreign

invaders including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi, toxins,

pollutants and even cancer. The skin, mucous membranes and body

surface secretions are the initial line of defense. If these guards

are overthrown, then a cavalry of white blood cells and antibody-

producing B cells gallop to the rescue.

 

In a study published in a 1976 issue of the journal Dental Survey,

J.R. Ringsdorf investigated sugar's effect on bacteria-hungry white

blood cells called neutrophils--and found that consuming 24 ounces

of cola depresses neutrophil activity by 50 percent for at least

five hours. (A control group was given sugar-free cola.) Other parts

of the immune system may be similarly assaulted by sugar (6).

 

This news is particularly distressing news for preoperative patients

fed soft drinks, jello, ice cream and custard because they are easy

to digest. Many hospital dietitians are apparently unaware that

hefty doses of sugar can drag down a patient's immunity at a time

when he or she needs it most. Of course, the sick are

frequently " nursed back to health " with sweets. Mothers offer 7-Up

and ginger ale for an upset stomach, and ice cream is the favorite

soother after a tonsillectomy.

 

We've all been taught to guzzle orange juice for it's vitamin C,

which is great for the sniffles. Unfortunately, most orange juice

brands sorrily lacking in this nutrient due to processing and

packaging. And the juice itself can actually lower your resistance

because of its high fructose content. In a study published in a 1973

issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, A. Sanchez

showed that 100 carbohydrate grams worth of orange juice (equal to

about 32 ounces) lowers white blood cell activity for at least five

hours (honey and table sugar, Sanchez found, had similar effects).

 

Sugar and Spice

 

How did sugar become a convalescent celebrity? Mary Poppins advised

that " just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, " because

remedies generally tasted awful. Later, the sugar became the remedy.

In the 1940's and 50's, candy and soft drink manufacturers commonly

advertised in prominent medical journals such as the Journal of the

American Medical Association. The American Bottlers of Carbonated

Beverages urged physicians to treat their undernourished patients

with soda. The Council on Candy said confectionary treats are a

nutritious addition to a child's diet. We now know, of course, that

that's not true.

 

Sugar High

 

Unfortunately, most kids still indulge in high-sugar foods as often

as possible, and parents regularly complain that sugar makes their

children " hyper " . Does sugar really cause youngsters to go berserk?

 

" The first thing I look at, " says Eric Jones, ND, Administration

Representative of Bastyr University in Seattle " is if a child has

actually been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (what used

to be called hyperactivity). " According to Jones, at least 50

percent of ADD children are misdiagnosed. ADD (or ADHD as it's often

called) is a complicated and often misunderstood condition. But

impulsive, uncoordinated, irritable children who can't pay

attention, cry easily or tend to withdraw may be hyperactive.

 

An unstable home life, food allergies, food additives, heavy metal

toxicity, exposure to drugs while in the womb or even an

unrecognized need for glasses may contribute to ADD. The sugar-

hyperactivity may be a medical myth. In a study published in the

July 1995 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, J.W.

White and M. Wolraich showed that sugar and other carbohydrates

actually have a calming effect, at least in adults.

 

Regardless of the research, Dr. Jones says at least half of his ADD

patients improve when taken off sugar and other sweeteners like corn

syrup, although taking candy away from a child doesn't usually solve

the whole problem, and all children react differently. A study

performed at Yale University School of Medicine did provide one

reason why sugar energizes some children. T.W. Jones found that

sugar increases adrenalin, a stimulating hormone secreted by the

adrenal glands, far more in children than in adults (7).

 

What's more, sugar and caffeine can be a potent combination in kids.

In a survey of 800 school children reported by J.L. Rapoport in a

1986 issue of Nutrition Reviews, those who drank a lot of

caffeinated soda were more likely to be labelled hyperactive by

their teachers than those who ingested less caffeine. Even food

allergies and intolerances (including to sugar) may send your

bouncing baby boy ricocheting off the walls (8).

 

What is Sugar?

 

Each American eats an average of 100 lbs of refined sugar every year

(9). That's a daily sugar dose equivalent to more than three and a

half cans of coke a day. Thus the average American may be hobbling

around with a chronically crippled immune system, always on the edge

of a cold or some other sickness.

 

Once upon a time, when dietary sugar was controlled and distributed

by the cook of the family, we knew what was sweetened and what was

not. Since then the convenience of purchasing prepared food has

replaced home cooking, and food manufacturers do most of the menu

planning. Today, sugar infiltrates everything from crackers and soup

to canned fruits and cereals. This omnipresent substance masquerades

as sucrose, glucose, dextrose, corn syrup (and high fructose corn

syrup), white and brown sugars, among others.

 

If your sweet tooth is getting out of hand, here are a few simple

steps to take toward sugar-free eating.

 

1. Identify the problem. Do you eat sugar everyday? Several times a

day? If so, it's time to cut back.

 

2. Wean yourself off sugar, slowly but continuously.

 

3. Learn the different names for sugar. Read labels, identify foods

with sugar in them and avoid buying them.

 

4. Shop in the periphery of the grocery store. Most processed foods

(to which sugar has been added) are in the middle. Produce, meats

and dairy foods line most stores' outer aisles.

 

5. Don't substitute artificial sweeteners for sugar. They're

associated with other health problems and merely feed your craving

for more sugar.

 

6. Discover the sweetness of nature. Substitute fresh and dried

fruits for sugary treats. Try herbal teas--many are naturally sweet.

Drink unsweetened fruit juice mixed with seltzer instead of soft

drinks.

 

7. Be wary of " natural sweeteners " such as honey and brown sugar.

Although many of these are less refined than white sugar (though not

always), they still depress immunity.

 

8. Learn how to cook and bake without sugar. Visit natural food

stores for cookbook ideas, and read more about sugar's effect on

health.

 

Improving one's eating is an age-old New Years's resolution.

Breaking the sugar habit and reinforcing your body's fortress

against disease take education, time and small steps. If you

strolled through candy-cane lane this past holiday season, it's time

to take steps towards the path of sweet, sugar-free health.

Sugarless cookie anyone?

 

REFERENCES

 

1. Katschinski B et al. Smoking and sugar intake are separate but

interactive risk factors in Crohn's disease. Gut 1988; 29:1202-1206.

 

2. Reiser S et al. Blood lipids, lipoproteins, apoproteins, and uric

acid in men fed diets containing fructose or high-amylose

cornstarch. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1989;49:832-

39.

 

3. Beck-Nielsen H et al. Impaired cellular insulin binding and

insulin sensitivity induced by high-fructose feeding in normal

subjects. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1980;33:273-

278.

 

4. Ramirez I. When does sucrose increase appetite and adiposity?

Appetite 1987;9:1-19.

 

5. McDonald RB. Influence of dietary sucrose on biological aging.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1995;62(suppl):284S-93S.

 

6. Bernstein J et al. Depression of lymphocyte transformation

following oral glucose ingestion. American Journal of Clinical

Nutrition 1977;30:613.

 

7. Jones T.W. et al. Independent effects of youth and poor diabetes

control on responses to hypoglycemia in children. Diabetes 1991; 40:

358-63.

 

8. Egger J, Carter CM, Graham PJ, Gumley D, Soothill JF. Controlled

trial of oligoantigenic treatment in the hyperkinetic syndrome.

Lancet 1985; 1: 540-45.

 

9. Murray M. and Pizzorno J. Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine.

Rocklin: Prima Publishing, 1991.