Is Sugar Toxic?

NYTimes ^ | April 13, 2011 | GARY TAUBES

[newzjunkey]

...When I set out to interview public health authorities and researchers for this article, they would often initiate the interview with some variation of the comment “surely you’ve spoken to Robert Lustig,” not because Lustig has done any of the key research on sugar himself, which he hasn’t, but because he’s willing to insist publicly and unambiguously, when most researchers are not, that sugar is a toxic substance that people abuse...

...What we have to keep in mind, says Walter Glinsmann, the F.D.A. administrator who was the primary author on the 1986 report and who now is an adviser to the Corn Refiners Association, is that sugar and high-fructose corn syrup might be toxic, as Lustig argues, but so might any substance if it’s consumed in ways or in quantities that are unnatural for humans...

...It very well may be true that sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, because of the unique way in which we metabolize fructose and at the levels we now consume it, cause fat to accumulate in our livers followed by insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome, and so trigger the process that leads to heart disease, diabetes and obesity...

[Paradox]

There might be something to this. I think it is funny too, because a lot of folks, even on FR, think the worst thing about sugar substitutes. Its all poison in large amounts..

[cripplecreek]

Try living without it sometime.

[Uncle Miltie]

BTW - How are your buddies in Hamas doing today? Rocketed any school busses killing children on purpose lately?

[Uncle Miltie]

Oh yeah:

Israeli Boy Dies After Gaza Terrorists Fire Missile at School Bus

Sunday, April 17, 2011, 1:12 PM

[Errant]

Paid bloggers posting on FR with hidden agendas, really disgust me!

[Uncle Miltie]

But hey! Rocketing school busses helps Hamas even-up the body-count. I know you're loving it.

-----------------------------------------------------------

UN: Palestinians are ready for statehood

Tuesday, April 12, 2011 7:15:26 PM · 24 of 35

newzjunkey to Uncle Miltie

During the period 9/29/00 to 2/28/11, 85% of deaths have been at the hands of the IDF.

6,407 Palestinians killed by the IDF.

1,141 Israelis and foreign citizens by Palestinians.

Israel continues to block imports and exports from Gaza by air and sea and still has over 120 illegal “settlements” in occupied territories.

------------------------------------------------------------

Moral equivalence by Body-Count. Whose your daddy?

[Delta 21]

Chemical Name: Sugar
Synonym: Sucrose, Beet Sugar, Cane Sugar, Confectioner’s Sugar
CAS Number: 57-50-1
Chemical Formula: C12H22O11

Section XI. Toxicological Infomation

RTECS Number: WN6500000
Routes of Exposure: Eye contact. Ingestion. Inhalation. Skin contact.
Toxicity Data: ORL-rat LD50: 29700 mg/kg; IPR-mus LD50: 14000 mg/kg
Chronic Toxic Effects: This product has no known chronic effects. Repeated or prolong exposure to this compound is not known to aggravate medical conditions.

Short answer: NO

[mlo]

Short answer is wrong.

[aruanan]

Is Sugar Toxic?

What absolute moronic crap. Carbohydrates (composed of polymers of mostly glucose) are one of the three macronutrients, fats and proteins being the other two. Sucrose is 50% fructose, 50% glucose. The danger of glucose or fructose is only in the context of a hypercaloric diet over a long period of time. Otherwise the body shifts substrate usage around to compensate for relative amounts of macronutrients. Have a hypercaloric diet with a lot of carbohydrates? The body will shift away from fat oxidation and toward glucose oxidation to protect itself from too much free serum glucose. The amount of kilocalories in the hypercaloric diet in excess of total energy expenditure are then stored in the form of dietary fats in adipose tissues. Dietary proteins in excess of amino acid needs for protein synthesis are always burned in the ketogenic or glucogenic cycles, depending on the type of the amino acid.

[pa_dweller]

Read these books:

Why we get fat, and what to do about it - Gary Taubes

Good Calories, bad calories - Gary Taubes

Sweet but dangerous - John Yudkin (oft-quoted/cited by Taubes)

[WackySam]

Is Sugar Toxic?

I sure hope not. As a long distance cyclist I regularly consume 10k-15k calories of refined sugar each week.

[Little Ray]

Its not as toxic as High Fructose Corn Syrup...

[RaceBannon]

if you are exercising, no, it is okay, you are using it

people who are sedentary do not use it up and it triggers an insulin response and yu will gain weight

reduction in simple sugars and simple carbohydrates DOES allow for fat burning, just make sure you dont cut out all carbs.

[FourPeas]

In large enough quantities water can be toxic. Stupid question.

[truthfreedom]

hfcs is the bad stuff

[TigersEye]

Sugar is sugar to the body. It all metabolizes the same.

[Eagle Eye]

The dose makes the poison.

[SoDak]

When I got off the sugar, using Atkins, I never felt better. I lost 140 lbs restricting carbs, and with no sugar ever. I’m back to using a little, but I seriously think it’s harmful to me unless used very sparingly. Note: this is not scientific, just my experience.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

I too found that I felt better physically with a severly restricted intake of carbs, but mentally I was in a tortured state because I love pasta, bread, and some sweets. I’d rather have to work off the carbs and enjoy daily living.