How Sugar and Sweeteners Can Ruin Your Health

The book, "Lick the Sugar Habit" by Nancy Appleton, PhD, warns of the negative - often dangerous effects of sugar on the body.  In addition to throwing off the body's homeostasis (balance), excess sugar may resut in a number of other significant consequences. 

Here is a summary, using documentation from a variety of medical journals and other scientific publications, of the consequences of a body out of homeostasis due to eating sugar.  You might print out a copy of this list and put it on your refrigerator or tape it to the pantry door where you keep your sugar bowl.

*  Sugar can supress the immune system
*  Sugar can upset the body's mineral balance.
*  Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, concentration
    difficulties, and crankiness in children.
*  Sugar can cause drowsiness and decease acivity in
    children.
*  Sugar can adversely affect children's school grade.
*  Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
*  Sugar contributes to a weakened defense against
    bacterial infection.
*  Sugar can cause kidney damage.
*  Sugar can reduce helpful high density lipoproteins
   (HDLs).
*  Sugar can promote an elevation of harmful low density
    lipoproteins (LDLs).
*  Sugar may lead to chromium deficiency.
*  Sugar can cause copper deficiency.
*  Sugar interferes with the absorption of calcium
    and magnesium.
*  Sugar may lead to breast, ovaries, prostrate, and rectum
    cancer. 
*  Sugar can cause colon cancer, with an increased risk in
    women.
*  Sugar can be a risk factor in gall bladder cancer.
*  Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose.
*  Sugar can weaken eyesight.
*  Sugar raises the level of a neurotransmitter called
    serotonin which can narrow blood vessels.
*  Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.
*  Sugar can produce an acidic stomach.
*  Sugar can raise adrenaline levels in children.
*  Sugar mal-absorbtion is common in those with functional
    bowel disease.
*  Sugar can speed the aging process causing wrinkles
    and gray hair.
*  Sugar can lead to alcoholism.
*  Sugar can promote tooth decay.
*  Sugar can contibute to weight gain and obesity.
*  High intake of sugar inceases the risk of Crohn's disease.
    and ulcerative colitis.
*  Sugar can cause a raw inflamed intestinal tract in persons
    with gastric or duodenal ulcers.
*  Sugar can cause arthritis.
*  Sugar can cause asthma.
*  Sugar can cause candidiasis (yeast infection.) 
*  Sugar can lead to the formation of gallstones.
*  Sugar can lead to the formation of kidney stones.
*  Sugar can cause appendicitis.
*  Sugar can exacerbate the symptoms of multiple sclerosis. 
*  Sugar can indirectly cause hemorrhoids.
*  Sugar can cause varicose veins.
*  Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in
    oral contraception users.
*  Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.
*  Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
*  Sugar contributes to saliva activity.
*  Sugar can cause decease in insulin sensitivity. 
*  Sugar leads to decreased glucose tolerance.
*  Sugar can decrease growth hormone.
*  Sugar can change the structure of protein, cause
    interference with protein absorption.
*  Sugar can cause food allergies.
*  Sugar can contribute to diabetes.
*  Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
*  Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.
*  Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.
*  Sugar can impair the structure of DNA.
*  Sugar can cause cataracts.
*  Sugar can cause emphysema.
*  Sugar can cause free radical formation in the
    bloodstream.
*  Sugar lowers the enzymes' ability to function.
*  Sugar can cause loss of tissue elasticity and function.
*  Sugar can cause liver cells to divide, increase the size
    of the liver.
*  Sugar can increase the amount of fat in the liver.
*  Sugar can increase kidney size and produce
    pathological changes in the kidney.
*  Sugar can overstress the pancreas, causing damage.
*  Sugar can cause myopia (nearsightedness.)
*  Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries .
*  Sugar can cause tendons to become brittle.
*  Sugar can cause headaches, including
    migraines.
*  Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha,
    and theta brain waves, which can alter the
     ability to think clearly.
*  Sugar can cause depression.
*  Sugar can increase insulin responses in those con-
    suming high-sugar diets compared to low-sugar diets.
*  Sugar increases bacterial fermentation in the colon.
*  Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance.
*  Sugar can cause blood platelet adhesiveness, which
    cause blood clots.