Sugar Smarts

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" HSI - Jenny Thompson " <HSIResearch

HSI e-Alert - Sugar Smarts

Tue, 27 Sep 2005 07:00:00 -0400

 

 

 

HSI e-Alert - Sugar Smarts

 

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

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September 27, 2005

 

 

 

 

Dear Reader,

 

Remember the TV show " Get Smart " ?

 

I thought about secret agent Maxwell Smart recently when I came across

some comments made by Andrew Briscoe, president and CEO of the Sugar

Association. Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Sugar

Alliance (ASA) last month, Mr. Briscoe said, " The Sugar Association

promotes the consumption of sugar as a part of a healthy diet and

lifestyle. "

 

If Mr. Briscoe were Max Smart, he might feel the need to come back

with: " Would you believe...the Sugar Association promotes the

consumption of sugar as part of a HAPPY diet and lifestyle? "

 

And finally: " Would you believe...the Sugar Association promotes the

consumption of sugar? "

 

That one I would believe.

 

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Pretzel logic

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If you're the CEO of an industry advocacy group, your primary function

is to sing the praises of your industry from morning to night. But if

your industry produces something of questionable value, you might find

yourself occasionally putting lipstick on a pig. For Mr. Briscoe, this

requires a little twisting of logic.

 

At the ASA meeting Mr. Briscoe said, " We believe in calories in and

calories out. Sugar is not a part of obesity issues. " He added that

lack of exercise and increased consumption of calories are the causes

of obesity.

He's absolutely right. But he's ignoring the elephant in the room:

good nutrition.

 

By Mr. Briscoe's beautifully simplified logic, if you burn more

calories than you consume, you'll be just fine. So as long as you do

your push ups and run a mile every day, you can back up the sugar

truck and let it flow. But this completely overlooks the fact that

sugar does not supply quality calories compared to calories from fish

or fruits or vegetables.

 

Meanwhile, there's plenty of evidence that sugar intake will

contribute to health problems over the long haul.

 

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More than simple addition

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Two of sugar's negative effects on the body are nicely illustrated by

a study in the August 2005 issue of The American Journal of Clinical

Nutrition.

 

Researchers in Denmark begin by noting that dietary glycemic load has

been associated with elevated C-reactive protein (CRP). As most HSI

members are aware by now, CRP is an inflammation marker that plays a

key role in the development of atherosclerosis (narrowing of the

arteries).

For 10 weeks, more than 40 overweight men and women consumed food and

drink supplements that contained either sugar or artificial

sweeteners. Over the study period, those in the sugar group increased

sugar intake by more than 150 percent, while sugar intake was

decreased by more than 40 percent in the artificial sweetener group.

 

Contrary to what Mr. Briscoe and the Sugar Association would have us

believe, subjects in the sugar group gained more than three pounds (on

average), while subjects in the sweetener group lost more than two pounds.

 

The researchers also measured three inflammatory markers: haptoglobin,

transferrin and CRP. In the sugar group these markers increased by 13,

5 and 6 percent respectively. In the sweetener group the markers

decreased by 16, 2 and 26 percent respectively. So on average, ALL

inflammation markers were reduced by cutting sugar consumption.

 

Obviously there's much more to sugar intake than just calories in,

calories out.

 

 

 

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....and another thing

 

An HSI member named Rhonda sent an e-mail with this question: " What do

you suggest for plaque on the arteries? Any supplements to clean them? "

 

When I asked HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., about this, he said

that, in his opinion, there's only one way to really attack this

situation: with EDTA chelation.

 

" This is a technique for leaching calcium and other minerals from the

arterial walls and removing them from the body via the kidneys. It's

an effective technique, though the strongest form takes around 30

intravenous sessions to really get a handle on serious disease, and

must be administered slowly (over three hours each treatment to

protect the kidneys from all the 'junk' being removed).

 

" EDTA is a 'chelating' agent (it stands for Ethylene Diamine

Tetra-Acetate), and can also be given orally. I didn't used to think

the latter route of administration was all that useful, but have come

to change my mind.

 

" Unfortunately, the conventional medical profession doesn't care for

the technique, though I have to say the reason is more an economic

reason than a scientific one. More on the scientific side (and finding

chelation practitioners) is available at acam.org.

 

" As minerals (including good ones) are lost from the body using this

technique, they are replaced orally with supplements. Strong

multi-vitamins are also given. I always add high-dose vitamin C to the

mix, also, along with alpha lipoic acid to protect against free

radical formation. "

 

To Your Good Health,

 

Jenny Thompson

 

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Sources:

 

" No Link Between Sugar and Obesity - Sugar Group " Reuters Health,

8/10/05, reutershealth.com

" Effect of Sucrose on Inflammatory Markers in Overweight Humans "

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 82, No. 2, August 2005,

ajcn.org

 

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