Public health: The toxic truth about sugar

Authorities consider sugar as 'empty calories' — but there is nothing empty about these calories. A growing body of scientific evidence is showing that fructose can trigger processes that lead to liver toxicity and a host of other chronic diseases¹. A little is not a problem, but a lot kills — slowly (see 'Deadly effect'). If international bodies are truly concerned about public health, they must consider limiting fructose — and its main delivery vehicles, the added sugars HFCS and sucrose — which pose dangers to individuals and to society as a whole.

Excessive consumption of fructose can cause many of the same health problems as alcohol.

Chronic ethanol exposure	Chronic fructose exposure
Haematological disorders
Electrolyte abnormalities
Hypertension	Hypertension (uric acid)
Cardiac dilatation
Cardiomyopathy	Myocardial infarction (dyslipidaemia, insulin resistance)
Dyslipidaemia	Dyslipidaemia (de novo lipogenesis)
Pancreatitis	Pancreatitis (hypertriglyceridaemia)
Obesity (insulin resistance)	Obesity (insulin resistance)
Malnutrition	Malnutrition (obesity)
Hepatic dysfunction (alcoholic steatohepatitis)	Hepatic dysfunction (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis)
Fetal alcohol syndrome
Addiction	Habituation, if not addiction