Suicide by Sugar is a book by Dr. Nancy Appleton. The book describes the dangers of sugar in detail and cites 200+ medical studies. The book also includes a list of reasons why sugar ruins health, which is similar to this list on the author’s blog:
• 141 Reasons Sugar Ruins Your Health
Whenever the book talks about sugar, it’s also referring to these other sweeteners:
agave syrup, agave nectar, barley malt, beet sugar, brown sugar, cane sugar, cane syrup, confections sugar, crystalline fructose, date sugar, evaporated sugarcane, fructose, fruit juice concentrate, galactose, glucose, granulated sugar, high fructose corn syrup, honey, invert sugar, lactose, liquid cane sugar, liquid cane syrup, maltose, maple syrup, molasses, powdered sugar, raw sugar, rice syrup, sugarcane syrup, table sugar, turbinado sugar, unrefined sugar, white sugar
Some of the negative health effects of sugar mentioned in the book include:
• Sugar is addictive. Rats who quit sugar cold turkey experience withdrawal symptoms.
• In one study, 94 percent of rats preferred sugar over cocaine.
• Sugar suppresses the immune system by depleting levels of phagocytes, which in turn reduces the body’s ability to fight infection and disease.
• A policy statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics cited research that showed for each additional serving of soda consumed by a child, the body mass index and risk of obesity both increase.
• Cooking with sugar food with sugar leads to the formation of advanced glycation end products, which are linked to many age-related diseases.
• Fructose significantly raises triglyceride levels in the bloodstream.
• Fructose can aggravate symptoms of IBS and diarrhea.
• Fructose and sucrose contribute to the oxidative damage that leads to wrinkles.
• Fructose intake leads to an increased excretion of several important minerals that are needed for health.
• Fructose consumption leads to the release of the hormone ghrelin, which induces hunger and leads people to overeat.
• Sugar leads to the development of metabolic syndrome and heart disease. One study showed that participants who consumed one or more sodas per day were 48 percent more likely to already have metabolic syndrome.
• High sugar intake leads to type 2 diabetes, which is also associated with dementia and depression
• Women with high glycemic load diets or high fructose intake were over 50 percent more likely to develop pancreatic cancer.
• Tumors may use sugar to fuel their growth.
• Sugar can facilitate the emergence of seizures.
