Can Sugar Be A Poison?

Sugar comes in many different forms. There is sugar, brown sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, and artificial sweeteners. Eating too much sugar is not good for the body. Nobody will argue that. Eating too much sugar can lead to obesity, overweight and a wealth of other problems that can be toxic if continued for too long. 

Diabetes type 2 and other disorders caused by eating too much sugar are the result of hormonal imbalances in the body. However, there are some researchers that have posed the question as to whether different forms of sugar are actually hazardous to the health. For example, many believe that high fructose corn syrup is actually toxic, even though syrup is apparently identical to sugar with regard to its biological effects. 

Refined sugar or sucrose as sugar is referred to is a molecule that is made up of a carbohydrate known as glucose, and bonded to fructose. This converts in the body, breaking down into glucose. The more fructose something has the sweeter it is. High fructose corn syrup simply has more fructose in it. Our body reacts to high fructose corn syrup the same way it reacts to the refined sugar in soda, by breaking it down into glucose and fructose. 

The problem comes when people consume too much sugar generally, and exceed the US Dietary Guidelines for Sugar. This can lead to sickness. People often get disorders including overweight, obesity, diabetes and other conditions from simply eating too much sugar. Children get into the habit of eating too much sugar and develop childhood obesity which in turn leads to adult diabetes and overweight. They may teach their own children to do the same. 

Childhood obesity has become an epidemic in some areas of the world. So when asked is sugar toxic or poisonous? It can be, if eaten in excess. But then again anything is harmful when taken to extremes.