The raison d'etre of this website is to provide you with hard scientific information which may help you make informed decisions in your quest for health (so far I have blogged concise summaries of over 1,500 scientific studies and have had three books published).

My research is mainly focused on the effects of cholesterol, saturated fat and statin drugs on health. If you know anyone who is worried about their cholesterol levels and heart disease, or has been told to take statin drugs you could send them a link to this website, and to my statin or cholesterol or heart disease books.

David Evans

Independent Health Researcher

Saturday 5 March 2011

Increases in sugar consumption mirrors the rises in modern diseases

Published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 86, No. 4, 899-906, October 2007

Potential role of sugar (fructose) in the epidemic of hypertension, obesity and the metabolic syndrome, diabetes, kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease1,2,3
Richard J Johnson, Mark S Segal, Yuri Sautin, Takahiko Nakagawa, Daniel I Feig, Duk-Hee Kang, Michael S Gersch, Steven Benner and Laura G Sánchez-Lozada
1 From the Division of Nephrology and Department of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (RJJ, MSS, YS, TN, and MSG); the Division of Pediatric Nephrology, Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX (DIF); the Division of Nephrology, Ewha Woman's University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea (D-HK); the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, Gainesville, FL (SB); and the Instituto Nacional de Cardiologia Ignacio Chavez, Mexico City, Mexico (LGS-L)
2 Supported by NIH grants DK-52121, HL-68607, and HL-79352 (to RJJ) and by a grant from the Korea Health 21 R&D Project, Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (A050626; to D-HK).
3 Address reprint requests to RJ Johnson, CG-98, 1600 Archer Road, Gainesville, FL 32610

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ajcn.org/content/86/4/899.full#R40

In this review of sugar and it's role in epidemic of hypertension, obesity and the metabolic syndrome, diabetes, kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease Johnson found evidence of many associations including:

(a) There are striking  associations between sugar intake and the epidemic of cardiorenal disease. For example, obesity was initially seen primarily in the wealthy, who would have been the only ones able to afford sugar.
(b) The first documentation of hypertension, diabetes, and obesity occurred in the very countries (England, France, and Germany) where sugar first became available to the public.
(c) The rise in sugar intake in the United Kingdom and the United States also correlates with the rise in obesity rates observed in these countries.
(d) The later introduction of sugar to developing countries also correlates with the later rise in their rates of obesity and heart disease.
(e) A series of studies linked the ingestion of soft drinks to obesity, hypertension, and diabetes.
(f) A series of studies linked the consumption of fruit juice and fruit punch to obesity in children.
(g) Clinical studies have confirmed that sucrose (and particularly fructose) can induce weight gain, features of the metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance.
(h) One unique aspect of fructose is that it is the only sugar that raises uric acid concentrations which may induce gout and heart disease.

AMAZON UK Sugar Shock!: How Sweets and Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life-- And How You Can Get Back on Track
AMAZON USA Sugar Shock!: How Sweets and Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life-- and How YouCan Get Back on Track