{"id":150302316162,"date":"2023-11-03T13:28:10","date_gmt":"2023-11-03T17:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bioptimizers.com\/blog\/?p=150302316162"},"modified":"2024-08-19T05:54:14","modified_gmt":"2024-08-19T09:54:14","slug":"is-sugar-poisonous-what-does-science-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bioptimizers.com\/blog\/is-sugar-poisonous-what-does-science-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Sugar Poisonous? What Does Science Say and What Should You Do?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May 2009, Dr. Robert Lustig gave a controversial but credible lecture called Sugar: The Bitter Truth<\/a> at the University of California San Francisco. As of 2023, the 1.5-hour lecture has been played 14 million times. These are impressive numbers for a 90-minute lecture on the biochemistry of a substance regularly consumed by millions of people worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multiple times in the video, Dr. Lustig refers to sugar as both \u201ctoxic\u201d and \u201cpoisonous\u201d, even calling it \u201cevil\u201d. This begs the question, is sugar really as harmful as Dr. Lustig claims? Possibly, the lecture was more hyped for attention than a balanced review of the literature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below, we dive into the evidence on sugar, and what potential health consequences it might have. However, it is important to note that the dose can make the poison \u2013 people consume sugar for many reasons, and not all are bad! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foods containing sugar are important parts of celebrations, cultural meals, and can absolutely be a component of a healthy diet. In fact, millions of people every year eat sugar without being poisoned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no doubt that these food-related experiences are important for fostering community, which are essential parts of your overall happiness and health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What we are really diving into is the health impacts of sugar when it is consumed in excess, and to equip you with the knowledge to make an informed decision when it comes to your health.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Is Sugar Poisonous?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is no doubt that sugar tastes great. Yet, in recent years, more people have become aware of the harmful effects of consuming too much of it <\/span>. In fact, the World Health Organization has recommended that we limit added sugars to less than 5% of our daily calories<\/span>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This advice comes from a growing body of evidence suggesting that too much sugar can impact health. Despite all of this, there are so many mixed messages on how sugar impacts health \u2013 from advertisements, health groups, and social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Dr. Lustig mentions sugar, he isn\u2019t just talking about the white granulated type often added to our morning coffee. He mainly refers to fructose, such as in high-fructose corn syrup, which, even without Dr. Lustig\u2019s influence, has earned a reputation as a vilified food additive<\/span>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what are the different types of sugar, and which ones should we be looking out for? The two main types of simple sugar here include glucose and fructose.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n