Harmful Effects of Sugar

Compiled by Pam Duff, RN, CSNC

This list was compiled from a variety of medical journals and other scientific publications.

Sugar:

1. suppresses the immune system
2. reduces the body’s defence against bacterial infections
3. upsets the mineral balance in the body
4. causes hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children as well as adults
5. worsens ADHD symptoms in children
6. significantly increases triglyceride levels
7. causes premature aging
8. causes a loss of skin tissue elasticity and function
9. reduces high density lipoproteins (good cholesterol)
10. leads to chromium deficiency
11. causes copper deficiency
12. contributes to cancers of the breast, ovaries, prostrate, and rectum
13. can increase fasting glucose levels
14. interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium
15. weakens the eyesight
16. contributes to myopia (nearsightedness)
17. contributes to cataracts
18. raises the level of a neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine
19. contributes to hypoglycemia
20. produces an acidic digestive tract (which harmful bacteria love)
21. causes a rapid rise of adrenaline levels in children
22. contributes to malabsorption problems in those with functional bowel disease
23. can lead to alcoholism
24. can cause tooth decay
25. contributes to obesity
26. contributes to Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis
27. increases negative changes in those with gastric or duodenal ulcers
28. can cause arthritis
29. can cause asthma
30. contributes to the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections)
31. can cause gallstones
32. can cause heart disease
33. can cause appendicitis
34. can cause multiple sclerosis
35. can cause hemorrhoids
36. can cause varicose veins
37. can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users
38. can lead to periodontal disease
39. can contribute to osteoporosis
40. lessens the function of digestive enzymes
41. causes a decrease in insulin sensitivity
42. lowers the amount of Vitamin E in the blood
43. decreases growth hormone
44. increases cholesterol
45. increases systolic blood pressure
46. causes drowsiness and decreased activity in children as well as adults
47. increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs)(sugar bound non-enzymatically to protein)
48. interferes with the absorption of protein
49. causes food allergies
50. contributes to diabetes
51. causes toxemia during pregnancy
52. contributes to eczema
53. can cause cardiovascular disease
54. can impair the structure of DNA
55. can change the structure of protein
56. causes a permanent altering of the way the proteins act in the body
57. causes premature skin aging by changing the structure of collagen
58. can cause emphysema
59. can cause atherosclerosis
60. can promote an elevation of low density lipoproteins (LDL – bad cholesterol)
61. can impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in the body
62. intake is higher in people with Parkinson’s disease
63. can increase the size of the liver by making the liver cells divide
64. can increase the amount of liver fat
65. can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney
66. can damage the pancreas
67. can increase fluid retention in the body
68. contributes to constipation
69. compromises the lining of the capillaries
70. makes tendons more brittle
71. causes headaches, including migraines
72. plays a role in pancreatic cancer in women
73. adversely affects school children’s grades, causing learning disorders
74. causes an increase in delta, alpha, and theta brain waves
75. causes depression
76. increases the risk of gastric cancer
77. cause dyspepsia (indigestion)
78. increases the risk of gout
79. can increase the levels of glucose in an oral glucose tolerance test over the ingestion of complex carbohydrates
80. increases the insulin responses in humans consuming high-sugar diets compared to low sugar diets
81. reduces learning capacity
82. causes less effective functioning of two blood proteins, albumin and lipoproteins, which may reduce the body’s ability to handle fat and cholesterol
83. contributes to Alzheimer’s disease
84. causes platelet adhesiveness
85. causes hormonal imbalance; some hormones becoming underactive and others becoming overactive
86. leads to the formation of kidney stones
87. contributes to the hypothalamus becoming highly sensitive to a large variety of stimuli
88. can cause dizziness
89. can cause free radicals and oxidative stress, which ultimately leads to disease
90. contributes significantly to platelet adhesion leading to vascular diseases
91. can lead to biliary tract cancer
92. feeds cancer cells
93. consumption is associated with a twofold increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant
94. can lead to substantial decrease in gestation duration among adolescents
95. slows food’s travel time through the gastrointestinal tract
96. increases the concentration of bile acids in stools and bacterial enzymes in the colon
97. increases estradiol (the most potent form of naturally occurring estrogen) in men
98. combines and destroys phosphatase, an enzyme, which makes the process of digestion more difficult
99. can be a risk factor of gallbladder cancer
100. acts like drugs, affecting the same part of the brain
101. can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol
102. can exacerbate PMS
103. affects the amount of carbon dioxide produced by premature babies
104. reduction increases emotional stability (In juvenile rehabilitation camps, when children were put on a low sugar diet, there was a 44% drop in antisocial behavior)
105. changes to fat in the body, producing two to five times more fat in the bloodstream than starch
106. is rapidly absorbed, promoting excessive food intake leading to obesity
107. adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition
108. slows down the ability of the adrenal glands to function
109. induces abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual, thus promoting the development of chronic degenerative diseases
110. sugar-water in IV solutions can cut off oxygen to the brain
111. is an important risk factor in lung cancer
112. increases the risk of polio
113. can cause epileptic seizures
114. causes high blood pressure in obese people
115. limiting sugar in Intensive Care Units has proven to save lives
116. contributes to cell death in the body
117. impairs the physiological homeostasis of many systems in living organisms
118. contributes to gastric cancer
119. dehydrates newborns
120. causes gum disease

*Note: Are you aware of the effect of drugs — prescription and over-the-counter — on your body’s nutrients? Check here.

This page was updated in September 2010.