To state things clear, in this article by the word “sugar” we mean both sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup. Sucrose is the beet or cane sugar, either white or brown, and high-fructose corn syrup is the substance used to replace sucrose in the food industry since the early 1980s. As the two sweeteners contain fructose, they are identical in the biological effects that we will explore.
The fructose component of sucrose and H.F.C.S. is metabolized primarily by the liver. When the fructose hits the liver in sufficient quantity and speed, the liver converts much of it to fat, and this creates a condition called fatty liver. If you take sugar in liquid form, as for example in a soda or fruit juice, its fructose will hit your liver more quickly than if you consume it in solid foods such as an apple.
The fatty liver causes another condition, known as insulin resistance, in which the cells in the body actively ignore the action of the hormone insulin, which as a consequence becomes less effective at lowering blood sugars. People with insulin resistance show increased hunger and this makes them fat. This condition is also called metabolic syndrome.
Although an expanding waistline is the first symptom to look for in diagnosing metabolic syndrome, another visible symptom of this condition is the acanthosis nigricans, which consists of brown to black darkening of the skin in the body folds, most often in the armpits and neck.
Studies made in animals show that when you stop feeding them with sugar the fatty liver promptly goes away, and with it the insulin resistance.
Sources of information:
- “Is Sugar Toxic?” by Gary Taubes. Published: April 13, 2011. Available here.
- “Sugar: The Bitter Truth”, Lecture by Robert H. Lustig. Available here.
- “Metabolic syndrome” by Mayo Clinic Staff Available here.
- “Acanthosis nigricans” by Mayo Clinic Staff. Available here.
- “Type 2 diabetes in children - Symptoms” by Mayo Clinic Staff. Available here.
