How Sugar Can Become Toxic

August 28, 2013

Story at-a-glance

  • Mice fed a diet containing 25 percent sugar – the equivalent of three cans of soda daily – were twice as likely to die as mice fed a similar diet without sugar
  • In 1700, the average Englishman ate four pounds of sugar a year. This has increased steadily to reach 77 pounds of sugar annually for the average American today
  • This excessive sugar consumption is being increasingly linked to health problems like high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, heart attack and more
  • It’s likely that the less sugar you eat, the better; I advise keeping your total fructose consumption below 25 grams per day

By Dr. Mercola

Mice fed a diet containing 25 percent sugar – the equivalent of three cans of soda daily – were twice as likely to die as mice fed a similar diet without sugar. 1

Such was the finding of a new 58-week University of Utah study, which once again highlights the early death sentence many Americans may receive for indulging far too often in this sweet treat.

While the mice did not display obvious signs of metabolic diseases, such as obesity, they were nonetheless significantly affected by the sugar. Male mice fed sugar were 26 percent less territorial and produced 25 percent fewer offspring, for example.

Said study author James Ruff in Time: