24 ways sugar is making you sick

Researchers at Harvard University studied thousands of adults over the course of 15 years and found those who consumed 25 per cent or more of their daily kilojoules from sugar were, in that time, more than twice as likely to die from heart disease as those whose diets included less than 10 per cent of added sugar a day. (The worst offenders? Sweetened beverages, grain-based treats, fruit drinks and dairy desserts.)

Don’t miss these common – but inaccurate – beliefs about heart disease.

If the label says ‘100 per cent juice,’ don’t chug with abandon. Even if the drink has no added sweeteners, its naturally occurring sugars are far more concentrated than you’d find in a piece of fruit. And unlike an orange or apple, which are high in fibre, juice offers empty kilojoules and is of minimal nutritional value.

In 2018, researchers at the University of Bath found a molecular link between sugary diets and early Alzheimer’s. The scientists discovered that glycation – a reaction through which glucose affects cells – causes damage to an important enzyme that’s involved in the reduction of abnormal protein build-up in the brain, which is characteristic of the disease.

Find out what you can do to cut your risk of dementia by 35 per cent.

A meta-analysis in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that sugar does not affect children’s behaviour. “It may simply be the environment where certain food is being served (ie parties) that causes children to be more excitable,” says dietitian Andrea D’Ambrosio. But it does spike blood pressure and cholesterol. One 2016 study in the journal Obesity showed that reducing young subjects’ sugar consumption for just nine days led to immediate improvements in those areas, as well as blood sugar levels.

These five convenience foods may appear to be healthier choices, but they often contain startlingly large amounts of the sweet stuff. Consider homemade alternatives instead:

Smoothies: on average, a medium (473-millilitre) store-bought smoothie contains between 30 and 80 grams of sugar. Instead: make your own with non-fat milk, half a banana, frozen berries and a sprinkle of omega-3-rich flaxseeds, then add a drop of vanilla extract to bring out the natural sweetness of the milk.

Trail mix: conventional wisdom suggests stashing trail mix in your car for a healthy snack on the go, but a quarter cup of a commercial variety can contain 16 or more grams of sugar. Instead: make your own mix and go heavy on the protein-rich nuts and seeds, lighter on the dried fruit (and nix the chocolate chips altogether).

Yoghurt: A 118-millilitre serving of fruit-flavoured yoghurt can contain 13 grams of sugar. If you top it with a quarter cup of store-bought granola, you’re downing another six grams. Instead: reach for plain Greek yoghurt and add your own fresh fruit and nuts. (Greek yoghurt offers more protein than the fruity varieties and only a third of the sugar per half-cup serving.)

Porridge: flavoured porridge packets may seem like a healthy strategy for busy mornings, but they can contain as many as 12 grams of sugar per serving. (Heaping on another tablespoon of brown sugar adds an extra 12 grams.) Instead: take the 10 minutes required to cook your own quick oats and add a quarter cup of diced apple and a dash of cinnamon.

Salad dressing: grabbing a salad for lunch may seem like a savvy dietary choice, but it’s important to know that some bottled dressings, such as French and vinaigrette, often have four or more grams of sugar per two-tablespoon serving. Instead: opt for a drizzle of oil and vinegar over your salad.

The average Australian consumes 60 grams – around 14 teaspoons – of sugar a day, without realising it. That’s well over the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommended healthy level of six teaspoons for women and nine teaspoons of sugar for men each day.

Check out what can happen to your body when you stop eating sugar.

Professor Laura A. Schmidt worries about all the damage sugar is doing to our bodies. That’s why she became lead investigator for UCSF’s SugarScience research site, developed as an ‘authoritative source for the scientific evidence about sugar and its impact on health.’ Here, she explains some of her concerns:

With all the negative health news about sugar, should we switch to something else?

Schmidt: The evidence is mounting against sucralose, saccharine and aspartame. Some research shows artificial sweeteners damage the microbiome in the gut. They’re also associated with weight gain and glucose intolerance, the two things people use them to prevent. Based on what we know, I wouldn’t consume those products – or give them to my kids.

How do you keep added sugar from seeping into your own diet?

I just don’t have it around the house. Take all that stuff out of your environment. Once you start cutting back, you’ll lose your sweet tooth. It’s a palate phenomenon, and it doesn’t take long. You’ll notice that you can suddenly taste the natural sweetness in unprocessed food, and you’ll start to find processed products cloying and unpleasant.

Unlike other forms of sugar, fructose, which occurs naturally in fruit, is processed in the liver. We’re consuming too much of it, thanks to our penchant for foods with added sweeteners, and it’s leading to a rise in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). One visible red flag: a sugar belly (yes, like a beer belly). Why? The liver breaks down excess fructose into fat globules that travel through the bloodstream and lodge around your midsection and internal organs. And, like the liver damage caused by alcohol, NAFLD causes inflammation and scarring. “It is one of the leading causes of liver transplants,” Schmidt says.

Here are some fatty liver symptoms you need to watch out for.

Those trying to cut down on sugar may be drawn to studies that tout the healing power of honey or the antioxidant benefits of maple syrup. Ignore them, says D’Ambrosio. “All sugar provides energy in the form of kilojoules but it doesn’t add a significant amount of other nutrients,” she says. “Sugar is sugar, so it’s best used in moderation no matter what form it takes.”

The average Australian teenage boy is consuming 160 grams of sugar per day, according to the Sugar Nutrition Resource Centre. (The leading culprit among kids aged 9 to 18? The added sugars in soft drinks.) Excess sugar is linked to weight gain, Type 2 diabetes, cavities and high cholesterol in children.

Read on to find out what happens to your body if you stop drinking fizzy drinks.