Diabetes, Sucrose (table Sugar),
and the unhealthy consequence of a free market.
An academic circumspection
by: David Freed BS-CLS, MT (ASCP)
March 3rd, 2009
Introduction
Over the past 18 years, or so, I have been exposed to various diabetic education programs. Years of working face to face with different patient types leaves me amazed at the impact our diet has upon our health. In the extreme, diet abuse is obvious and hope for intelligent positive change is mute. However, the conspiracy of refined sugar is subtle and there is an active campaign of confusing and sometimes contradictive misinformation that perpetuate the mystery of diabetes. This fog of official literature serves to facilitate the continued rampant spread of adult on-set diabetes throughout our population.
It is the intent of this paper to step away from the patient, choosing a different and hopefully larger perspective, to look at the relationship between table sugar (sucrose), adult on-set diabetes, depression, and the increasing consumption of sucrose via the free market. Notice, that I did not say, the relationship between table sugar and obesity, and then adult on-set diabetes, and depression. Of all the misinformation available to the newly diagnosed diabetic, one of the most frustrating misstatements is that there is no proven correlation between table sugar and adult on-set diabetes; there is only a correlation to obesity, and obesity is a contributing factor to diabetes. The second most frustrating misstatement from the pro-sugar propaganda machine is that diabetes has always been with us since the earliest historical records. Implying that the responsible cause already existed many years before the sugar industry began. Not only will this paper clarify both of these points, but also introduce the conspiracy of our own free market system to drive our health into a more revenue producing economy, both up front in quantity and secondarily in the health care arena. The ultimate conspiracy for sucrose is that it makes money for every body.
The first point - Ancient history.
Many accredited articles will tell the reader that, 'Diabetes is reported in historic literature as far back as Ancient Egypt.' Well, technically they are 100% correct! However, it is also 100% technically correct to say that the Egyptians had boats, none of which were nuclear powered, made of steel, or circumnavigated the globe. Diabetes did exist from the earliest days of humanity, but in what form? Diabetes actually has many forms, many of which have nothing to do with the epidemic of adult on-set diabetes we are experiencing today.
Types of diabetes
Diabetes Insipidus:
Diabetes Insipidus has nothing to do with sugar at all. It is a defect in the pituitary gland that inhibits the production of Anti-diuretic Hormone (ADH). Without this hormone the kidneys are unable to concentrate water to remain inside of the body. These patients urinate excessively, throwing off many important analytes from their systems. Patients use to compensate for their condition by deliberately drinking to replenish their body fluids. Today ADH is available through formal medicine and the condition is easily treated.
Diabetes Type I
Type I diabetes, otherwise know as Juvenile Diabetes, accounts for only 5-10% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Its prevalence is 1 in 300 persons younger than 20 years of age. This type of diabetes is caused by insufficient insulin secretion of an idiopathic cause. Idiopathic is just a fancy way to say - we don't know the cause. The two biggest causal candidates are: congenital defect - a simple DNA miss transcription, or some type of auto-immune condition - where the patient has antibodies directed at the bodies insulin production center. In either case, this type of diabetes develops early in life and is therefore not the fault of diet, but by genetic misfortune. Juvenile Diabetes has always been with mankind and most stories of diabetic deaths from history involved the young. Type I Diabetes is controlled by closely monitoring blood glucose levels and using supplemental insulin injections. Therefore, Type I Diabetes is also known as Insulin-Dependent-Diabetes-Mellitus - or IDDM. (Mellitus - simply meaning that there is glucose present in the urine.)
Diabetes from secondary causes.
Our bodies are a complicated jumble in interlinked metabolic pathways. Other metabolic disorders can effect the body that induces a secondary diabetes. Secondary diabetes can be cause by pancreatic disease and cancer, acromegaly - a growth hormone excess, Cushing's Syndrome - elevated cortisol, pheochromocytoma - excessive catecholamines, glucagonoma - excessive glucagon production by tumor, somatostatinoma - excessive somatostatin production, primary aldosteronism, severe liver damage, and the administration of certain chemical or drugs.
Gestational Diabetes
Gestational Diabetes is a result of increased demands on the mother's metabolism, during pregnancy, and the stress leading to an impaired glucose tolerance ability. Many of these individuals, may develop diabetes later in life. The subtle presentation of the disease going unnoticed until the stress of pregnancy simply causing the disease state to become noticeable.
Diabetes Type II
Diabetes type II is what we today refer to as Adult On-Set Diabetes and accounts for 90% or more of the diabetic epidemic. This is for people that developed symptoms of diabetes later in life and are omitted from the the juvenile diabetic group. Just a few years ago, the threshold for the diagnosis was to be older than 40 years of age. Today, the medical industry diagnose children as young as eight years old with the adult version of the disease. Adult diabetes is symptomatically subtle in its presentation. It isn't the obvious lack of insulin as in Type I, but it is in the slow to manage glucose response by the body.
Impaired glucose tolerance is the initial phase of the disease. To measure how the body responds to a glucose load a glucose tolerance test is performed by the laboratory. A fasting glucose level is drawn and measured on the patient. If safe to continue, the patient is given a glucose load, usually in the form of a fruit drink or cola. Hourly glucose measurements are taken on the patient for up to 5 consecutive hours. Everyone's glucose level will spike after the loading dose. However, normal individuals should be able to return their glucose level to the normal range well within two-hours. Patients with impaired glucose tolerance take much longer to process the glucose load. Therefore, their 'Blood Glucose Levels' remain higher for longer periods of time. Chronic over consumption of dietary sucrose, coupled with impaired tolerance, drive 'Blood Glucose Levels' higher and higher. Eventually, the diabetic's blood chemistry becomes so unbalanced that larger and larger metabolic pathways are effected. Resulting in disease, and the gradual progression to 'Adult On-Set Diabetes', and then 'Complications of Diabetes.'
In the worst case scenario this condition can become insulin dependent, but is ultimately managed with diet - or Non-Insulin-Dependent-Diabetes-Mellitus (NIDDM). So, even here is the first hint that there is a positive relationship between diet and the disease. 'From 1935 to 1996, the prevalence of diagnosed type 2 diabetes climbed nearly 765%. The global figures are predicted to rise from 150 million cases in 2000 - to 221 million in 2010.' (Heather Bascianol, Lisa Federico, and Khosrow Adeli, Fructose, Clinical Biochemistry Division, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Insulin Resistance, and Metabolic Dyslipidemia, 2005, Nutrition & Metabolism , 2:5doi:10.1186/1743-7075-2-5, downloaded from: www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/2/1/5, March 2nd, 2009)
A different source claims, "171 million cases in 2000 and 366 million cases projected by 2030." Truly of epidemic proportions. Currently, 'There are 3.2 million deaths caused each year by the complications of diabetes." (Whelan, Jo, Double Diabetes, 2007, New Scientist magazine, October 27 - November 2, 2007. pg 48 - 52.)
Double Diabetes
Medicine has a mountain of confusing diabetic data, indicating that the disease is far more complex that originally thought. For better clarity of classification, Double Diabetes, informally known as 'type 1.5', was added to the list of formal World Heath Organization's (WHO) diabetic diseases. This diagnosis is reserved for cases that are now presenting themselves with symptoms of both Type I and Type II. There are no firm figures on this type of diabetes yet, but the experts are beginning to take notice. To Many, the trend is an inevitable consequence of modern lifestyles. (Whelan, Jo, Double Diabetes)
History since the mass marketing of sucrose
Sugar has been around for centuries. It was an expensive luxury grown in only small quantities. However the New World discovered by Christopher Columbus was perfectly suited to grow cane sugar as a plentiful cash crop. By 1750, there were 120 sugar refineries operating in Britain. Mass amounts of the sweet stuff became readily available, extremely affordable, and businessmen of the day referred to sugar as "White Gold." (Loren, Karl, History of Sugar - The Indian's Revenge, downloaded from www.karlloren.com/diet/p47.htm on September 30th, 2007)
The Shipwreck
But, it didn't take long for the medical industry to notice cane sugar, table sugar as we know it today, and began to investigate sugars impact to health. One of the first events that caught the eye of the scientific community was a shipwreck in 1793. A vessel carrying a cargo of sugar ran aground in the Caribbean. The five surviving sailors had nothing to consume except a diet of sugar and rum. These five sailors were rescued after five days and found to be in terrible condition. Worse than if they had nothing but water to survive on.
Inspired by this accident, french physiologist F. Magendie conducted a series of experiments with animals, the results of which were published in 1816. He fed dogs a diet of sugar, olive oil, and water. All the dogs died. "From his notes, he is quoted as saying, 'As a steady diet, sugar is worse than nothing. Plain water can keep you alive for quite some time. Sugar and water can kill you .... Humans and animals are 'unable to subsist on a diet of sugar.'" (Lorren, Karl, The Sweetest Poison of all Refined Sugar,1999, extracted from Nexus Magazine, Vol. 7, No. 1, December 1999 - January 2000, downloaded fromwww.karlloeren.com/Diabetes/p82.htm on September 30th, 2007)
Glucose is the fuel that life burns to stay alive. Yet - sucrose alone will not sustain life.
What a scientific puzzle!
The free market propaganda begins
Sugar manufacturers began their public relation campaigns as early as 1808. The Committee of West India offered a 20 guinea prize to anyone who could give experimental evidence that sugar supplements were good for feeding and fattening oxen, cows, hogs, and sheep. Naturally, all scientific trials were disasters. (Lorren, Karl, The Sweetest Poison of all Refined Sugar)
To save the sugar image, the post American Revolution British House of Commons, even resorted to a quote from, 'The great Dr Rush of Philadelphia,' who reported ... that sugar contains more nutrients in the same bulk than any other known substance. Politics and sugar entered into a partnership. After all, what is good for businessmen is good for politicians. Money keeps the economy happy and there is a lot of money in sugar. Cheap and easy to produce and addictive to the consumer, both in initial sales of quantity and in a guaranteed repeat customer base. The absolute dream of a free market system. Sugar barons with powerful companies dominated their markets much like the drug cartels of today. (Lorren, Karl, The Sweetest Poison of all Refined Sugar)
Adult on-set first described
"Sir Frederick Banting, the co-discoverer of insulin, noticed in 1929 in Panama that among sugar plantation owners who ate large amounts of their refined stuff, diabetes was common. Among native cane-cutters, who only got to chew the raw cane, he saw no diabetes." (Dr. Georgiou, George J., PhD., The Sweet Poison, 15th November 2002, www.worldwidehealthcenter.net downloaded May 16th 2008). Other medical literature of the era also speak of a phenomena described as pancreatic exhaustion. The logic is simple: overwork an organ until it can no longer keep up with demand.
However, the power of the profit rich sugar industry, the need for politicians to promote business and profits, the addictive cravings of a developed society, and the need for scientist to be heard, even if sponsored by the sugar cartel, resulted in many pro-sugar statements.
A history of Nutrition was published in 1957, by professor E. V. McCollum of John Hopkins University. In his publication he reviewed over 200,000 previously published scientific papers to compile the data for his paper. Although, he never performed a single controlled experiment himself. His publication is very kind to the sugar industry. In the front of his non-threatening publication, he wrote in the pre-amble, "The author and publishers are indebted to The Nutrition Foundation, Inc., for the grant to publish this book." However, the Nutritional Foundation is a front organization for some of the biggest sugar pushing industries in the food market, Including: American Sugar Refining Company, Coca-Cola, Pepsi-cola, Curtis Candy Company, General Foods, General Mills, Nestles Co., and about 45 more such companies (Dr. Georgiou, George J., PhD., The Sweet Poison, ).
Unhappily, we must admit to ourselves that science today accomplishes little without a sponsor. The protocols of modern science have compounded the cost of scientific inquiry. Just look at the tobacco industry for further evidence. However, isn't this the ultimate result of a free and open market?
Also published in 1957, Dr William Coda Martin's book was titled Sugar Blues. Dr Martin's conclusions were very different indeed. He classified refined sugar as a poison because it had been depleted of its life forces, vitamins, and minerals. He says, What is left consist of pure, refined carbohydrates. The body can not utilize the refined sugar unless those depleted proteins, vitamins, and minerals are present. Incomplete carbohydrate metabolism results in the formation of toxic metabolites, such as pyruvic acid and abnormal sugar forms. Pyruvic acid deposits in the neural tissue and the abnormal sugar forms find their way into the red blood cells. These accumulations interferes with the function of the tissue and is the beginnings of a degenerative disease. (Dr. Georgiou, George J., PhD., The Sweet Poison, ).
Dr Martin explains that refined sugar is lethal to the human body because it provides only that which nutritionist call "empty" or "naked" calories. It lacks the natural minerals found in raw sugar, either cane or beet. As we consume refined sugars on a daily bases minerals and vitamins are being mobilized within our bodies to assist in the mass digestion. Calcium leaches from our bones and teeth, weakening bones and assisting in tooth decay. As glucose loads are digested, our metabolisms struggle to maintain the pH and electrolyte balance of the blood supply. Excess sugar eventually effects every organ in the body. Initially, it is stored in the liver in the form of glycogen. Once the liver has expanded like a balloon and is filled to its capacity, excess glycogen is released into the the blood system as fatty acids. Fatty acids are stored all over the body. First starting with the inactive areas, such as the belly, thighs, buttocks, and breast.
When these seemingly harmless places are filled to their capacites, these fatty acids begin to deposit in other active organs like the kidney and heart. These organs begin to slow down and the whole body is affected by their reduced abilities, and abnormal blood pressure is created. The parasympathetic nervous system is also affected; and the organs governed by it, such as the brain and small intestine. Circulatory and lymphatic systems are invaded and our tolerance and immunization power become more limited (Dr. Georgiou, George J., PhD., The Sweet Poison, ).
Excessive sugar has a strong mal-effect on the functioning of the brain. One of the keys to orderly brain functioning is the presence of B vitamins. The metabolism of mass doses of sucrose consume many of these same vitamins. Additionally, the increased overall glucose levels within the body has a negative growth impact on the intestinal bacteria that also produce B vitamins. Too much sugar makes one sleepy and slows our ability to calculate and remember (Dr. Georgiou, George J., PhD., The Sweet Poison, ).
What a differing conclusion he reached than did E. V. McCullum. In our free market business driven society, is there any surprise as to which author got more publicity and air play? In fact, Dr Martin's book Sugar Blues is not in print and is difficult to come by.
Dr Price took the whole world as his laboratory. He traveled to many developing nations to study health trends from the third world. His devastating 1958 conclusions, recorded in horrifying detail, in area after area, that people who live under so-called primitive conditions had excellent teeth and wonderful general health. They ate natural, unrefined food from their local area. As soon as refined sugared foods were introduced through contact with civilization, physical degradation began in a way that was definitely observable within a single generation. (Global Health Center, Refined Sugar - The Sweetest Poison of All, 2006, downloaded from: www.ghchealth.com/refined-sugar-the-sweetest-poison-of-all.html April 6th, 2008)
And just so you don't think that the sugar lobby was sleeping, Time Magazine also reported in 1958 that a Harvard biochemist and his assistants worked for ten years on a project funded by the Sugar Research Foundation to find out how to prevent tooth decay from sugar. The findings from the Harvard team concluded that there was no way to prevent tooth decay from sugar. The research foundation withdrew its funding and the results were never officially published. (Dr. Georgiou, George J., PhD, The Sweetest Poison).e market business
Is there a positive correlation between sucrose consumption and diabetes?
Adult on-set diabetes was first described in sugar plantation owners. Then it is spread into the civilized nations of the world, and sugar related complication soon follow. Today "...about one-third of U.S. adults have an impaired glucose tolerance, more are not able to produce sufficient insulin to maintain non-diabetic glucose levels. Over time, many of these individuals will experience deterioration of glycemic control and progress to type 2 diabetes. By this time, they may have lost almost one-third of their insulin producing ability." (Miller, Sharon M., Diabetes: Get a clearer picture, July 2003, MLO Magazine.) Its increased mention in scientific literature parallels the increased consumption and increased sugar related health issues.
According to a recent article in The British Medical Journal, "Sugar is as dangerous as tobacco and should be classified as a hard drug, for it is harmful and addictive." (Sugar Rush, Guardian Unlimited Special Reports, February 15th 2007, downloaded from www.guardian.co.uk/food/Story/ on December 12th 2007) A study of nearly 100 years of data on what Americans eat shows a huge increase in processed sugars and a drop in the amount of fiber from whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. It parallels a spike in type 2 diabetes, caused by the body's increasing inability to metabolize sugars. (Defeat Diabetes Foundation, Study Blames Sugar for Rise of Diabetes in US, 4/29/2004, downloaded from www.defeatdiabetes.org/Articles/food040429.htm on December 7th 2007)
Medical researchers from Argentina have induced type 2 diabetes in rats by chronic sucrose feeding. (Center of Experimental and Applied Endocrinology, University of La Plata School of Medicine, Mechanisms involved in the beta-cell mass increase induced by chronic feeding to normal rats, 2002, Journal of Endocrinology 174, 225-2310) A second study from the York Health Economics Consortium, University of York, UK also supports the Argentine conclusions. (Bags, A., and Beale, B., Deteriorating beta-cell function in type 2 diabetes: a long term model, January 2nd 2003, Association of Physicians, Q.J. Med 2003; 96:281-288)
Now consider that our societies sugar consumption is "... about 120 million tons and it is expanding at a rate of 2 million tons per annum." (Loren, Karl, History of Sugar)
"800,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with diabetes annually ... and ... it has become the 5th leading cause of death in America." (Miller, Sharon, Diabetes: Get a Clearer Picture, MLO magazine, July 2003, pg 10 - 63)
Second Point - Sucrose, obesity, and diabetes
After reading the coffee table literature on diabetes, the reader is left with the impression that adult on-set diabetes is a phenomena only secondary to obesity. So, let us look at some real life examples. The first example I offer is my friend Mary. Mary weighs 485 lbs, or more at times. I met Mary because she is a reoccurring patient. She is so large that the weight of her own body prevents her lungs from filling properly and she goes into respiratory distress. At age 50, Mary is not diabetic. My second example is my co-worker James. James is what my family would call a string bean. He is 5' 10" tall with a 30" waste and weighs approximately 145lbs. Yet at age 48, James was just diagnosed as diabetic. Both of these cases seem to contradict the published literature.
Examples from the athletic arena
Arthur Ashe was very active in high school sports, which included tennis, basketball, and baseball. In 1963, not only did he received a tennis scholarship to UCLA, but he was also the first African-American to be selected to the US Davis Cup Team. In 1965, he won NCAA individual, and team championships for UCLA. He also returned as a US Davis Cup Member 1965-1970, 1975, and 1977-1978. He was the US Davis Cup Captain in 1966, 1967, 1971, and 1981. To date he is the only black male tennis player to win the US Open, 1968, the only black male tennis player to win at Wimbledon, 1975, and the only African-American to be ranked #1 in the world. In his career he also won three grand slam singles titles: 1968 US Open, 1970 Australian Open, and 1975 Wimbledon. He was elected president of the Association of tennis Professionals in 1974, and inducted into the tennis Hall of Fame in 1985. Additionally, he was also diagnosed with adult onset diabetes during his career. (The Official Web- Site of Arthur Ashe, downloaded from www.cmgww.com/sports/ashe/about/achievemwnts.htm on March 22nd 2008)
Steve Redgrave is widely considered to be Britain's greatest Olympian. His career in rowing saw nine World Championship gold metals,1986, 1987, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 1999, two silver medals, 1987 and 1989, and a bronze in 1990. He won gold medals in five consecutive Olympic games, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, and 2000, and an additional Olympic bronze medal in the 1988 games. In addition, he won another three gold medals in the 1986 Commonwealth Games. Other accomplishments in rowing include winning the Silver Goblets & Nickalls' Challenge Cup seven times, the Stewards' Challenge Cup five times, the Diamond Challenge Cup Sculls twice, the Double Sculls Challenge Cup once, and the Queen Mother Challenge Cup once. Then, not to be confined to a summer sport alone, in 1989/1990 he was a member of the British bobsled team. As a reward for his athletic achievements, he was awarded Membership in the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1987, and later became a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in1997, and in 2001, he was Knighted to the rank of Knight Bachelor. Another of Sir Steve Redgrave's achievements was his diagnosis of adult onset diabetes in 1997, which eventually saw him with diet change and insulin dependency. (Sir Steve Redgrave, Redgrave: 'when I got diabetes I thought my rowing career was over', Men's health Forum, downloaded from www.malehealth.co.uk, March 22nd 2008)
Both of these athletes were diagnosed with adult onset diabetes and both of these athletes are poster boys for not being obese. These athletes were lean mean athletic machines and text book examples of health and vigor. Again, real life examples seem to contradict the coffee table literature.
What are sugars and how are they metabolized
Glucose
is the fuel that all living plants and animals burn in a metabolic cycles
to power life, however there are a few exceptions found in nature. Our bodies
have many different metabolic pathways to insure that glucose is available
to the cells. This molecule is the gasoline for the engine of life. When the
glucose molecule is available in our blood streams to finally enter a hungry
cell, it is in this Monosacchride, a single unit of the hexose molecule, form.
However, glucose is not the only form of sugar to be found in nature, or in our diet. Sugar is a hexhose molecule, meaning that it can easily exist in 6 forms. Each of these basic structures have many variants; and the vocabulary of chemical names suddenly grows. Any discussion of the chemistry becomes extremely complicated. However, understanding the connection to diabetes requires just a few simple facts.
Dissachrides are a coupled hexose molecule pair. The three diccahride forms of our diet are Maltose, Lactose, and Sucrose - good ole' table sugar.
Maltose
or malt sugar, is a disaccharide formed from two units of glucose.
A double glucose molecule. It is the sugar of grains and now you know why
Malt Liquor comes from hops and barleys. Maltose is easily digested. It does
add to the glucose abuse issue, but it is not a large fraction of our diets.
Lactose is the stuff of milk sugars and consists of ß-D-galactose
and ß-D-glucose fragments bonded through a ß1-4 glycosidic linkage.
Milk sugar is the second largest fraction of our dietary intake and adds significantly
to our sugar abuse.
FYI - People who do not make enough lactase enzyme to break that ß1-4 glycosidic linkage are lactose intolerant. Once inside the intestinal lumen, the molecule isn't broken into its separate fractions and remains to large, to easily pass through the intestinal wall and into our blood stream. To compensate - the digestive system moves water into the intestinal lining to dilute and aid in lactose adsorption. As the fluids accumulate in the intestinal lining the discomfort of the swelling process increase. So, lactose intolerant individuals that ingest a large amount of lactose end up with a tummy ache.
Sucrose,
common name: table sugar, is a disaccharide of glucose and fructose. It is
best known for its role in human nutrition and is formed by plants but not
by other organisms such as animals or bacteria. This disaccharide is easily
broken into its two monosacchride forms. The glucose fraction is absorbed
and processed easily. Unlike glucose, fructose metabolism occurs mainly in
the liver. Fructose metabolism is not as simple. The liver is really busy
when you eat a lot of fructose. Its ability to manage cholesterol is altered.
However, the most interesting side effect of fructose metabolism is insulin
suppression.
Dietary mass consumption forces the pancreas to deal with a larger glucose loading doses, combined with the continued chronic over-consumption simply wears the pancreas's ability to cope with the dietary abuse. Dietary fructose affects the liver. Driving it, pushing it to cope with demand. Secondarily, pushing total cholesterol levels upward. All the while, directly interfering with insulin production, affecting glucose regulation and management. Many scientists believe that high dietary fructose contributes significantly to the development of metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors that predict heart disease and Type 2 diabetes (Fructose Metabolism More Complicated Than Was Thought, December 11th, 2008, ScienceDaily, downloaded from ww.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081209221742.htm February 22, 2008)
Pushing our bodies to respond to the point of exhaustion and malfunction. It is this driving mechanism on the pancreas that eventually causes harm and slows insulin production. - and simultaneously taxing the liver. So the term Pancreatic exhaustion only applies to half of the overall issue. The liver is responsible for so many important and necessary aspects of our metabolism. The process of continually demanding these systems to perform at capacities beyond their designed limits is unhealthy in the long term. Look at the examples from the sports world. Both physically fit and text book healthy. These athletes also had very high caloric intake, as much as 6000 calories a day. Many calories from the various forms of sucrose hidden within our food, or just sprinkled on top. Again driving their organs to stress - the logic is simple: overwork an organ until it can no longer keep up with demand and eventual harm is expected.
The conclusions of a recent study
In a 2004 study of nutrient consumption in the United States, between 1909 and 1997, discovered there was a significant correlation in the prevalence of Diabetes with the intake of sweeteners. The alarming increase in fructose consumption (50% of table sugar) may be an important contributor to the epidemic of obesity and insulin resistant diabetes in both pediatric and adult populations. The increasing application of high fructose sweeteners (such as corn syrups) over the past few decades has resulted in a considerable rise in the dietary intake of fructose. A high flux of fructose to the liver, the main organ capable of metabolizing this simple carbohydrate, disturbs normal hepatic carbohydrate metabolism leading to two major consequences - 1) abnormalities in glucose metabolism and glucose uptake pathways, and - 2) a significantly enhanced rate of lipogenesis and triglyceride synthesis. These metabolic disturbances appear to underlie the induction of insulin resistance commonly observed with high fructose feeding in both humans and animal models. Fructose induced insulin resistant states are commonly characterized by a profound metabolic dyslipidemia. Taking into consideration that a typical western diet not only contains high levels of fructose but is also rich in both fat and cholesterol, synergistic interactions among these nutrients can readily occur leading to a greater degree of insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. In conclusion, emerging evidence from recent epidemiological and biochemical studies clearly suggests that the high dietary intake of fructose has rapidly become an important causative factor in the development of the metabolic syndrome. There is an urgent need for increased public awareness of the risks associated with high fructose consumption and greater efforts should be made to curb the supplementation of packaged foods with high fructose additives. (Heather Bascianol, Lisa Federico, and Khosrow Adeli, Fructose, Clinical Biochemistry Division, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Insulin Resistance, and Metabolic Dyslipidemia, 2005, Nutrition & Metabolism , 2:5doi:10.1186/1743-7075-2-5, downloaded from: www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/2/1/5, March 2nd, 2009)
Remember the words of Dr Martin
Dr Martin explained that refined sugar is lethal to the human body because it provides "empty" or "naked" calories, lacking the natural minerals found in raw sugar. As we consume refined sugars on a daily bases minerals and vitamins are being mobilized within our bodies to assist in the mass digestion. As glucose loads are digested, our metabolisms struggle to maintain the pH and electrolyte balance of the blood supply. Simultaneously, the liver is being equally stressed by fructose, cholesterol levels rise, and insulin is directly suppressed. As organs begin to slow down and the liver tires of exhaustion, the whole body is effected by their combined reduced abilities, and abnormal blood pressure is created. Weakening our immune systems, interfering with B Vitamins, impacting the functioning of the brain, and slowing mental capacities.
Remember the 19th century experiments
Glucose diets proved to be lethal. Eating only glucose took more away from the host than water only diets. All experimental attempts to prove otherwise ended in death. Plain water can keep you alive for quite some time. Sugar and water can kill you. Humans and animals are unable to subsist on a diet of sugar.
The conspiracy of mass marketing of sucrose,
and the free market's attempt to disguise the truth.
If it is sweeter it will sell better. It is a basic fact in advertising. Sugar is slipped into so many aspects of our diet. More than most consumers are aware of. It is a horrific fact that in 2006 the average American each consumed 31 five-pound bags of sugar. Trivial facts like there is six teaspoons of sucrose in each can of coke. Sugars are added to even poultry for increased sales. Manufactures try to conceal there abuse of sugars by disguising their names on the list of ingredients. Label readers have had to stay current with advertising jargon to realize that many chemical names are simply sugar in disguise. Our diets have moved away from natural foods to more convenient meals in a box. Just add water and you have an entire meal - amazing. Ease of prep has attracted the population into increased usage of processed foods. To compete in the market place, different manufactures use sugars to increase overall sales. Before you know it - each of us has done our share of consuming those 31 five-pound bags of sugar each year. Another positive correlation between sugar consumption and diabetes.
From fresh fruit to ready meals, from baby formula to sausages, the food we eat is getting sweeter. The food industry is reluctant to surrender the power sugar has over its young customers. In November 2006, the Thai government asked that the global standards for glucose in baby foods be reduced from 30% to 10%. The request was blocked by the US and EU vote. Two years earlier, The British Medical Journal reported the sugar lobby's effective pressure on the government to intercede and stop the WHOs attempt to curtail sugar consumption by children. (Colpo, Anthony, US government sides with junk food manufactures, January 28th 2004, British Medical Journal, downloaded from www.forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=166920 on May 2nd 2008)
Patti Randall, policy director of Baby Milk Action Group, is convinced that such early exposure to refined sugars is how babies get hooked on sweetness. Follow-on formulas are often ineradicably sweet, containing as much as 60% more sugars than regular milk. (Sugar Rush, Guardian Unlimited Special Reports, February 15th 2007, downloaded from www.guardian.co.uk/food/Story/ on December 12th 2007)
Sibyl le Koran PhD. RD, professor of nutrition science at Pennsylvania State University, says, "The diets of children in this country contains too much added sugar.. almost as soon as they start eating solid food. The long term consequences include greater risk of obesity, heart diseas, diabetes, and dental decay." (Hitti, Maranda, Kid's Diets Have Too Much Added Sugar, January 13th, 2005, WebMD Medical News, downloaded from www.webmd.com/parenting/news on December 8th 2007)
Sugars link to depression
Sugar Blues, by Dr Martin, was probably the first popular culture book that gives insight into the often overlooked link between diet and depression, and how a small dietary change, eliminating refined sugar, can make a huge difference in how good one is able to feel physically and mentally. The author even suggested that cutting out refined sugar from the diet of those institutionalized for mental illness could be an effective treatment for some. Numerous people seem to report a drastic change in their mood after eating foods high in sugar. As a result, sugar has a reputation as causing, mood swings and other bad health effects. Suggesting that how we live and what we eat have some effect on our moods, it has long been known that coronary heart disease and diabetes all are common in people with depression. This means that the same dietary conditions that create heart disease and diabetes also can lead to depression. Sugar consumption in population studies have been shown to have a close link with major depression. (Scott Olson, What Sugar Does to Your Brain, Health News From a New Attitude, 2009, downloaded from: www.olsonnd.com/what-sugar-does-to-your-brain/ February 23rd 2009)
Initially, when the General Hospital for the insane was established in Paris, only 1% of the city's population was locked up by royal decree. From that time until today, as the consumption of sugar went up and up - so did the percentage of people admitted for mental illness. Studies from this hospital conclude that mental illness can be the first symptom of the obvious inability to handle the stress of sugar dependency. In 1940, Dr John Tintera began glucose tolerance testing on all his patients. The results were so startling that the laboratory rechecked all its findings. (Global health center, Refined Sugar -)
Conclusions published in JAMA Magazine (Journal of the American Medical Association) reported that, "The biological mechanisms by which depression and type 2 diabetes are associated remain unclear. However, the present study contributes to the growing body of literature indicating a bi-directional association between these 2 diseases." (Examining a Bidirectional Association between Depressive Symptoms and Diabetes, June 18th 2008, JAMA, Vol 299, No. 23) The study was conducted by members of the Department of Medicine at John Hopkins University, Baltimore MD., The department of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University, Chicago Il., The Department of Epidemology and Prevention at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem NC., The Division of Epideminology and Community Health at University of Minnesota, St Paul Mn., and The Department of Epidenminology at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Mi..
Noted British psychiatric researcher, Malcolm Peet, has conducted a cross-cultural analysis of the relationship between diet and mental illness. He found that there is a strong link between high sugar consumption and the risk of both depression and schizophrenia. Eating sugar actually suppresses the activity of a key growth hormone in the brain called BDNF. This hormone promotes the health and maintenance of neurons in the brain, and it plays a vital role in memory function by triggering the growth of new connections between neurons. There's also evidence from animal models that low BDNF can trigger depression. It has long been known that people with diabetes have a greater chance of getting Alzheimer’s disease, but these new studies are the first to show that there may be a closer relationship between sugar and Alzheimer’s disease. For puzzling reasons, the two diseases are interrelated. (Psych Pundit, A clinical researcher reflects on the causes, consequences, and treatments of mental illness, Dietary Sugar and Mental Illness: A Surprising Link, Tuesday, July 11, 2006, downloaded from: www.psychpundit.blogspot.com/2006/07/dietary-sugar-and-mental-illness.html March 1st 2009.)
Graph not drawn to scale
Conclusion
Seductive marketing by the sugar lobby combined with the population's addiction with sweetness has an overall negative impact in our lives, and our health, both physically and mentally. The positive correlation between sucrose, diabetes and depression is a haunting revelation, especially when a jar of processed baby food contains more sucrose than a candy bar. Our babies graduate from processed baby foods to sugar frosted flakes, gum balls, and jelly beans. Many of our children are fat early in life and the legacy we leave then is one of health complications and disease.
The conclusion is obvious.
Dietary control of diabetes
As stated earlier, adult on-set diabetes is usually controlled initially by diet. I would be remiss if I didn't include comments about proven lifestyle choices that reduce the harm of diabetes and actually reduce insulin dependency. The Zone diet was developed by physicians to reduce an individuals dependency on insulin. Your weight may not change, but your use of insulin will. Both the South Beach diet and the Atkins diet are beneficial to adult on-set diabetes patients, because both diets correctly identify the relationship of good carbs to bad carbs.
