Can Too Much Sugar be Toxic?

Posted by Healthy Bitch Daily on Apr 1, 2013

A recent YouTube video received more than a million hits, and it didn’t feature dancing babies, a boy returning home from the dentist or girls gone wild.
No, the 90-minute video that has everyone talking simply made the case that sugar is toxic, and is the underlying cause of the current obesity epidemic. We know it’s bad for you, but toxic? Interesting.

The man behind the widely shared “sugar is evil” lecture is Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics, and a leading expert in childhood obesity. Lustig believes that our overconsumption of sugar—both sucrose (table sugar from beet and sugar cane), and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)—coupled with the lack of fiber in our diets, has led to a dramatic increase in obesity, diabetes and a host of other chronic illnesses over the past 30 years.

Lustig argues that sugar can be quite dangerous in large amounts. Sugar is composed of fructose and glucose. Fructose, the predominant sugar in fruit, and a common ingredient in processed foods such as HFCS, is metabolized primarily in the liver. When you consume a substantial amount of sugar, especially over a short period of time, the liver becomes overworked, and converts most of the excess sugar to fat. The fat can then accumulate in the liver and lead to insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome, then finally heart disease, diabetes and obesity. Talk about a downward spiral!

Good versus Evil

In an article in the Huffington Post, David Katz, M.D., director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center at Yale University, disagrees with Lustig that sugar is toxic.

"You find me the person who can blame obesity or diabetes on eating strawberries, and I will give up my day job and become a hula dancer," said Katz.

He further points out that sugar is a necessary fuel for our body and brain. He believes that our penchant for sweet foods may also be a survival instinct, since a bitter taste is most often associated with life-threatening substances.

The one area that Lustig, Katz and other researchers agree on is that too much sugar is harmful, or in other words, “the dose makes the poison.” And because studies have shown that sugar is addictive, the more sugar you consume, the more you want.

Do We Give Up Sugar?

No one knows the answer to whether sugar is toxic, and if so, how much is too much. It may be that sugar is a “chronic toxin,” meaning that it’s not toxic after just one meal, but may be after 1,000. Until there are long-term studies with conclusive results, your best bet is to err on the cautious side and reduce the amount of sugar in your diet.

For those of you getting ready for bikini season, remember that fat-free foods usually contain added sugar, so read labels. And don’t think you can just switch from regular to diet soda and problem solved—Research shows that diet sodas may be harder on your teeth and may actually increase hunger later in the day (and hello, aspartame?!)

Instead of focusing on one evil nutrient, we should all take the advice of Michael Pollan, who in his bestselling book, In Defense of Food advocates, “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.”

Well said, Michael.


Susan Emmer, FOOD Feature Editor
Susan is a certified whole health educator and coach treading on both wellness and green terrain. Earning an environmental studies degree before green was the new black, Susan is the co-owner of the boutique sustainability marketing and PR firm, Farmacy Agency. Follow her on Twitter at @wellnewsnetwork.