Dangers of Sugar Intake

A 2012 ground-breaking 60 minutes news story first generated wide spread public concern to the potential dangers of added sugar. The 60 Minutes reporters reviewed new research from some of America's most respected institutions that found sugar is a toxin that can lead to major chronic diseases such as obesity, heart disease, and cancer. While the majority of Americans have known for some time that sugar isn’t good for you and may lead to weight gain, it was news to many people that it could be responsible for wreaking havoc on your health.

Since the 2012 60 Minutes report, it’s been found that an alarming 16 percent of children and teens’ daily caloric intake come from added sugar, even though the World Health Organization recommends only 5 percent of the total daily calories in our diets come from sugar.

Most recently, new research in a study that came out last month found that obese children who cut back on their sugar intake see improvements in their blood pressure, cholesterol readings and other markers of health after just 10 days. The children who participated in this study lost little to no weight, making their results attributable to simply the reduction in added sugars.

What may be most concerning to some, is that nearly all corn and table sugar grown in the U.S. is genetically modified, making it likely that any product containing High Fructose Corn Syrup or sugar that isn’t organic or non GMO project verified contains GMO’s.

Avoiding added sugar of any kind is highly advisable. The body’s microbiome is made up of trillions of good bacteria that digest food, produce vitamins and protect it from germs and disease. Added sugar can alter the balance between good and bad bacteria and weaken immune systems.