Adverse Effects of Sugar on Your Immune System; Excessive Consumption May Cause Obesity

A new study shows how fructose, a common sugar additive, damages your immune system and more adverse effects.

If you're looking for reasons to cut down on your sweets, there are already various researches advocating the adverse effects of sugar on your health. Science says that there are numerous side effects of regular consumption of sugar.

Sugars in Day-to-Day Life

We use sugars every day of our life sometimes without even knowing it. Table sugar that we use on teas, coffees, desserts, and even some main courses comprises glucose and fructose molecules.

Fructose naturally occurs in honey and small quantities in some fruits such as sugar canes, corn, beets, squash, and more. It tastes sweeter than average glucose, so it is widely used in High Fructose Corn Syrup used in a number of processed foods.

Harvard Health points out that in the early 1900s, Americans consumed roughly 15 grams of fructose in a day, mostly sourced from vegetables and fruits. However, in recent years the average person consumes roughly 66 grams of fructose daily.

For some time, we've known of the adverse effects of excessive sugar consumption on our health. Experts say that fructose maybe even worse than glucose when it comes to increasing risks of serious health conditions.

A study published in the journal Nature Communication entitled, "Fructose reprogrammes glutamine-dependent oxidative metabolism to support LPS-induced inflammation," found that fructose side effects can increase inflammation and negatively affect the body's immune response.

Dr. Nick Jones, a lead author of the study from the Institute of Life Science Swansea University, UK, tells Eat This, Not That! That the research doesn't urge people to stop eating fruit but advocates reducing high fructose corn syrup consumption, mostly found in beverages and processed foods.

(Photo: Photo by Nick Demou from Pexels)

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3 Side Effects of Fructose

Increases Inflammation

Dr. Jones explained that the research found a type of white blood cell known as monocytes became inflamed when it was cultured in fructose that means when fructose is given instead of glucose, it produces more proteins known as cytokines linked with inflammation.

The inflammation of cells can cause damage to the cells and tissues in the body and may lead to white blood cells, vital to your immune response, not working as they should.

Damage to the Immune System

A 2019 study entitled "High fructose-induced metabolic changes enhance inflammation in human dendritic cells" showed that dendrite cells critical to the human immune response became inflamed once exposed to fructose compared to glucose.

Obesity

All cells in the body can metabolize glucose; however, only the liver can effectively break down fructose in high amounts. When fructose is consumed, the liver breaks it down into fat, which leads to weight gain and obesity.

The study connecting fructose with adverse effects such as inflammation explains the link between sugar and obesity since chronic low-grade inflammation is also linked with obesity.