How Other Kinds of Processing Affect This Food
Medical Uses and/or Benefits
Adverse Effects Associated with This Food
Tooth decay. Fermentable carbohydrates, including sugars, may cling to the teeth and
nourish the bacteria that cause cavities. Regular flossing and brushing remove the sugars
mechanically; fluoridated water hardens the surface of the teeth so that they are more
resistant to bacterial action.
Inability to metabolize sucrose. People with diabetes do not produce enough insulin to
metabolize sugar properly to glucose (the form of sugar circulating in our blood). When
they eat sugar, excess glucose builds up in urine and blood. Some people have precisely
the opposite problem, reactive hypoglycemia, an excess secretion of insulin that can
trigger trembling, anxiety, headache, fast heartbeat, and difficulty in thinking clearly.
If untreated, the results of both insulin insufficiency and insulin over-secretion may be
life-threatening.
Heart disease. In some people, a high-carbohydrate diet may cause an increase in the level
of triglycerides (fatty acids) in the blood, but this rise is only temporary in people whose
weight is normal. People who are overweight tend, as a rule, to have levels of triglycerides
that are consistently higher than normal. When they lose weight the levels of triglycerides
fall. The theory that sugar causes heart disease, first proposed by British researchers in the
1960s, has been successfully refuted by long-term studies from several countries that show
no correlation at all between sugar intake and the incidence of coronary heart disease.
Possible hyperactivity in children. The popular belief that sugared foods causes hyperactiv-
ity in children remains controversial. In the 1990s, the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
conducted studies in which children were given drinks sweetened with glucose, sucrose,
or saccharin without the children or the testers knowing which child got what drink.
The results showed no correlation between sugared drinks and hyperactivity. In fact, the
children were generally quieter after drinking sugared beverages, an observation that is
consistent with the accepted observation that consuming carbohydrates, including sugars,
facilitates the brain’s ability to produce the calming neurotransmitter serotonin. However,
the NIH note that because refined sugars enter the bloodstream more quickly than complex
carbohydrates such as starches (e.g., bread), they do produce fluctuation in blood glucose
levels that might trigger the release of the “fight-or-flight” energizing hormone adrenaline,
making a child more active for the moment.
Sugar