Thursday, January 07, 2016

Big Sugar poisons people, poisons Democracy, and poisons the Everglades ... by gimleteye

As the Everglades Coalition prepares to meet in Coral Gables for its annual meeting, more public health data about the risks of cancer from consumption of sugar. Sugar in your diet is more addictive than cocaine, and Big Sugar pulls out all the stops to make sure you have more than enough to make you very, very sick.
James DiNicolantonio is a cardiovascular research scientist at St. Luke’s Mid-America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo. He recently published a comprehensive review of dozens of studies in which he contends that sugar is more dangerous than salt when it comes to risk for heart disease. He says that refined sugar is similar to cocaine — a white crystal extracted from sugar cane rather than coca leaves — and that studies show it can be even more addictive than the recreational drug. “When you look at animal studies comparing sugar to cocaine,” DiNicolantonio told Here & Now’s Lisa Mullins, “even when you get the rats hooked on IV cocaine, once you introduce sugar, almost all of them switch to the sugar.”

In 2012, Mother Jones reported,
"Big Sugar's Sweet Little Lies":
"... it is clear enough that the industry still operates behind the scenes to make sure regulators never officially set a limit on the amount of sugar Americans can safely consume. The authors of the 2010 USDA dietary guidelines, for instance, cited two scientific reviews as evidence that sugary drinks don't make adults fat. ... The Sugar Association has also worked its connections to assure that the government panels making dietary recommendations—the USDA's Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, for instance—include researchers sympathetic to its position. One internal newsletter boasted in 2003 that for the USDA panel, the association had "worked diligently to achieve the nomination of another expert wholly through third-party endorsements." When world health experts dared to recommend that people eat less sugar, the industry asked federal officials to intervene. In the few instances when governmental authorities have sought to reduce people's sugar consumption, the industry has attacked openly."

But now, data is pouring in: Big Sugar poisons people. The industry's tactics, including pay-to-play campaign finance abuses, resemble Big Tobacco. Here is Fox News yesterday:

BREAST CANCER
Study links sugar to cancer: How to reduce your risk
By Dr. David B. Samadi Published January 06, 2016 FoxNews.com

Is sugar increasing your risk of cancer? A new study from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reveals diets that are high in sugar are a major risk factor for certain types of cancers, especially breast cancer.

In the study, researchers gave mice fructose and sucrose in amounts similar to what someone who follows a Western diet would consume. They studied mice that were genetically modified for breast cancer research and then placed them into four different groups. Each group was fed a different diet with various amounts of sugar until the mice were about 6 months old.

After six months, results showed that a diet consisting of sugar levels similar to the typical Western diet caused an increase in tumor growth as well as the spread of lung cancer. Among the mice on a sucrose-enriched diet, 50 to 58 percent had developed mammary tumors, while only 30 percent of the mice on a non-sugar starch-based diet had developed measurable tumors.


Researchers concluded that it is how sugar affects the inflammatory pathway that fuels cancer growth.

"We determined that it was specifically fructose, in table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, ubiquitous within our food system, which was responsible for facilitating lung metastasis and 12-HETE production in breast tumors,” said study author Lorenzo Cohen, a professor of palliative rehabilitation and integrative medicine at the University of Texas.

Study authors investigated the mechanisms that may be involved in the growth and spread of tumors in the mice on the sugar diets. They found that sugar increases the growth of an enzyme called 12-LOX and a fatty acid called 12-HETE in breast cancer cells. They also found that fructose increased the risk of the production of 12-HETE in breast tumors as well as the spread of cancer to the lungs.

Previous research has investigated the association between sugar and the development of cancer. However, this study is unique because it’s the first research that looks at the direct effect of sugar consumption on the development of cancer in animals.

Normal cells require sugar, which produces insulin. However, when there is too much sugar in the pancreas, it becomes exhausted. This can lead to insulin resistance, which is also known as diabetes. With regards to cancer, there is not much evidence that sugar causes cancer. But what has been found is a strong association between the two. Cancer cells have receptors called insulin growth factors, which cancer cells can use to spread cancer. Excess sugar goes to the liver, which is then metabolized. When there is an overload of sugar in the liver, it is concerted to fat. This causes a buildup of belly fat and cytokines, which can increase your risk for cancer.

Sugar consumption in the United States is on the rise. Americans on average individually consume about 100 to 150 pounds of sugar per year. Based on these findings and other research suggesting a link between sugar consumption and cancer, the researchers advise a diet low in sugar. Other than cancer, sugar consumption is a major risk factor for the development of other health conditions such as obesity and heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, women should have no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar per day, and men should have no more than 9 teaspoons of sugar per day. Many Americans consume about double that amount.

It is important to be able to spot the hidden sugars in food, as this is where many people don’t realize their dietary mistakes lie. Sugar isn’t just found within “sugar” on a food label. Sugar can be within a number of other ingredients such as fructose, lactose, sucrose, maltose, glucose, and dextrose. While it is unlikely you’ll be able to completely avoid sugar, it is possible to choose healthier, natural sugars such as agave nectar and honey. Artificial sweeteners should be avoided.

No comments: