The opium of the people
In our previous instalment, we witnessed how refined sugar, and starches have hijacked the modern diet, leaving our brains reeling while processing a seemingly never-ending “reward”.
No wonder we are evolutionarily overwhelmed, when our current consumption of sugar is five or six-fold what it was in the mid-19th century. Just this morning, upon waking up, you may have felt slightly hungover if you went to bed after having a soft drink or a bar of chocolate following a dinner of pizza or pasta.
Indeed, it’s not just our brain hardware circuitry that struggles with the assimilation of drug-like, refined carbohydrates, it is our moods, attention, cognition and even our memory that suffer from the excess. And beyond the brainfog and the general sluggishness, you may have noticed sore muscles, stiff joints and wrinkles or pimples on your face since sugar overload affects a lot more than our brain chemistry.
And you needn’t be old(er) to notice the cumulative effects of “sugar doping”.
Indeed, witness the vibe at the end of a toddler’s birthday party, once the young guests have guzzled lemonade and binged on cake, ice-cream and gummy bears. The sugar “high” will manifest as manic running, screaming and general mayhem. And just wait for the paroxysm before tearful hysteria sets in while goodbyes are exchanged…
Indeed, like a hard drug, excess sugar taxes our bodies at any age and in myriad ways– from our skin to our teeth, heart, liver and girth, as science has found out in the last few decades.
S/he has sugar…
Of course,the poster boy of sugar-related diseases remains diabetes – in both its variants: diabetes mellitus type 1 and type 2.
Interestingly, Germans often refer to people with diabetes by saying “s/he has sugar” [er/sie hat Zucker] in the vernacular, rather than saying “s/he is diabetic”… And while the potential role of (excess) glucose consumption in the onset of both incarnations of the disease is muddied by other factors, excess sugar consumption and its consequences may play an even bigger role than we previously thought.
Indeed, you may see type 1 diabetes as a not so prevalent auto-immune condition that is not directly related to excess sugar consumption. Alarmingly, however, its prevalence seems to be sharply increasing – which means that factors beyond genetics are at play. And although the causes for this increase appear multi-factorial (e.g. microbiome issues, as well as ecological and geographical factors), lifestyle and, more specifically, poor diet and attending obesity, could be a significant trigger (Ogrotis & al., 2023).
When it comes to type 2 diabetes, causation seems more straightforward since we often label it as a lifestyle disease. Beyond genetic predispositions and co-occurring illnesses, lifestyle, in all its facets, is an undeniable contributing factor. More precisely, overweight linked to poor diet as well as lack of movement, lack of sleep, smoking, excess alcohol consumption, stress and urban life can all play a significant role in what is often, yet mistakenly, referred to as adult-onset diabetes. Indeed, if the prevalence of type 2 diabetes increases with age, teenage lifestyles – rife with junk food and sedentary or other harmful behaviours – mean that the age at onset has dramatically dropped.
A sickly-sweet atlas
All this contributes to what can only be described as an international public health emergency. Indeed, 537 million adults currently live with diabetes worldwide and by 2045 it could rise to 783 millions – in other words, well over Europe’s current population count (Diabetes Atlas, online).
While incidences vary widely according to region, it is interesting to note that the Western Pacific territory as well as the Middle East/North African and the North American and Caribbean regions are the most affected by the disease.
The case of the Western Pacific may be emblematic of a wider public health problem disproportionately affecting indigenous populations submitted to systemic cultural and economic oppression in the form of “lack of education, poverty, and substandard living conditions due to lack of income” (Cheran & al. 2018).
But in the other two regions, it appears that primarily diet (and lack of movement) are the most likely culprits. From the piles of flatbreads or sticky baclava served with heavily sugared tea and coffee in North Africa or the Middle East to the American-sized buckets of fried chicken, soft drinks or chips you can buy at any fast-food joint, you needn’t look much further to sense the issue. Especially if we mention that the rest of Africa has the lowest incidence of diabetes worldwide. Or if you’re told that Galen [129-216 AD], one of European Antiquity’s most famous physicians, encountered only two (2!) cases of diabetes in the course of his entire career.
Yes, you got our drift: there is a heavy correlation between the rise of diabetes worldwide and diets high in sugar and processed foods that became available in the wake of (post-)industrialisation.
Sugar high, sugar low, sugar crash
But you needn’t be diagnosed with diabetes (yet), to already have a serious problem with sugar and/or carbs, as described in our introduction.
Of course, “needing” a croissant in the morning or a bar of chocolate in the evening may not yet qualify as a full-blown addiction. But if you are well attuned to your body’s reactions or if you subscribe to the new fad of wearing a blood sugar monitor around the clock, you will witness the impressive effects of your small sweet “fix”: a euphoric blood sugar peak followed by numbness, then crashing and craving.
Repeat that cycle many times over the course of a day and your metabolism will begin to really suffer. Indeed, “HSDs [High Sugar Diets], sucrose, and thus glucose and fructose cause dysregulation of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism in the body. Added sugar bingeing promotes an increased energy balance, weight gain, fat storage and consequently overweight and/or obesity” (Witek & al., 2022).
Even if an active lifestyle or other protective factors may be able to shield you from overweight or diabetes, you may notice other disturbing signs that your metabolism is overwhelmed.
This was the case for French biochemist and influencer Jessie Inchauspé, who described her health odyssey in her first bestseller Glucose Revolution as well as on her Instagram channel. Her impressive recovery after a life-threatening accident was marred by debilitating and seemingly intractable mental health issues. By chance, Inchauspé had an epiphany while taking part in a trial that involved wearing a blood sugar monitor. She began to notice a strong correlation between her carb intake and her moods, prompting her to question, then modify her traditionally sweet French diet.
Long live – without – sugar!
Last but not least, high sugar intake seems to have a deleterious impact on longevity, even if the sugar lobby and the studies it sponsors would have you believe otherwise.
One of the most discussed effects of sugar on longevity is the increase of so-called dietary advanced glycation end products (AGEs). Succinctly defined, they are “a heterogeneous, complex group of compounds that are formed when reducing sugar reacts in a non-enzymatic way with amino acids in proteins and other macromolecules. This occurs both exogenously (in food) and endogenously (in humans) with greater concentrations found in older adults” (Luevano-Contreras et al., 2010).
And since the 1990s, AGEs have been increasingly linked to “age-related human metabolic diseases, like metabolic syndrome, diabetic complications as well as neurodegenerative diseases” (Chaudhuri et al., 2018). Their effect can be summed up as modulating oxidative stress that then stokes chronic inflammation in the body.
Indeed, when you take a sugar break (be it through eliminating added sugar, limiting carb intake or going full Paleo or Atkins), the reduction of inflammation is often palpable, even for a layperson. After a potentially uncomfortable withdrawal phase, your complexion will clear, your brain will “unfog”, your energy will return and any joint or muscle pain will significantly recede.
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Confronting our “harmless” little weakness…
“But how, oh how do I go about limiting sugar in my diet?” you might be saying, while shaking your head in despair. Indeed, even just eliminating the small daily sweet treat can feel almost as daunting as reforming a very unhealthy diet, heavy in processed foods.
At epiAge we strongly believe that there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to lifestyle regulation, hence also sugar management. What works wonders for one may not work at all for the other.
What we notice, however, is that due to the foibles of human psychology, small incremental changes usually prove more sustainable than comprehensive radical ones. But if you are a genuine sugar addict, you may have to go for a more “tabula rasa” approach – at least initially.
Thankfully, now that excess sugar has been recognised as the main villain in our diets, a number of methods have been developed by physicians or other scientifically trained professionals – from Mark Hyman to Michael Mosley, Richard Bernstein or the afore-mentioned Jessie Inchauspé, to name but a few.
From small tricks and nudges to more comprehensive overhauls, we encourage you to take your pick and experiment what method will best guide you towards a less sweet but definitely happier and healthier future!
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Sources and further reading
Ogrotis I, Koufakis T, Kotsa K. Changes in the Global Epidemiology of Type 1 Diabetes in an Evolving Landscape of Environmental Factors: Causes, Challenges, and Opportunities. Medicina (Kaunas). 2023 Mar 28;59(4):668. doi: 10.3390/medicina59040668. Online: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10141720/
“Type 2 diabetes”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_2_diabetes
“IDF Diabetes Atlas”. International Diabetes Federation. Online: https://diabetesatlas.org/
Cheran K, Murthy C, Bornemann EA, Kamma HK, Alabbas M, Elashahab M, Abid N, Manaye S, Venugopal S. “The Growing Epidemic of Diabetes Among the Indigenous Population of Canada: A Systematic Review”. Cureus. 2023 Mar 15;15(3):e36173. doi: 10.7759/cureus.36173. Online: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10103803/
Baniissa W, Radwan H, Rossiter R, Fakhry R, Al-Yateem N, Al-Shujairi A, Hasan S, Macridis S, Farghaly AA, Naing L, Awad MA. « Prevalence and determinants of overweight/obesity among school-aged adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: a cross-sectional study of private and public schools”. BMJ Open. 2020 Dec 12;10(12):e038667. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038667. Online: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33310793/
Sugar in the Caribbean. HCC (Healthy Caribbean Coalition). Online: https://www.healthycaribbean.org/sugar-caribbean-infographics/
Zajac J, Shrestha A, Patel P, Poretsky L (2009). "The Main Events in the History of Diabetes Mellitus". In Poretsky L (ed.). Principles of diabetes mellitus (2nd ed.). New York: Springer. pp. 3–16.
Witek K, Wydra K, Filip M. A High-Sugar Diet Consumption, Metabolism and Health Impacts with a Focus on the Development of Substance Use Disorder: A Narrative Review. Nutrients. 2022 Jul 18;14(14):2940.doi: 10.3390/nu14142940. Online: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9323357/#B32-nutrients-14-02940
Inchauspé, Jessie, Glucose Revolution: The Life-Changing Power of Balancing Your BloodSugar. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2022.
Wilkinson, Amy. “Jessie Inchauspé On Surviving The Harrowing Accident That Set Her Life OnA New Course”, Women’sHealth, 22.03.2023. Online: https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a43129915/jessie-inchauspe-glucose-goddess-method/
Luevano-Contreras C, Chapman-Novakofski K. Dietary advanced glycation end products and aging. Nutrients. 2010 Dec;2(12):1247-65.doi: 10.3390/nu2121247. Online: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3257625/
Chaudhuri J, Bains Y, Guha S, Kahn A, Hall D, Bose N, Gugliucci A, Kapahi P. The Role ofAdvanced Glycation End Products in Aging and Metabolic Diseases: Bridging Association and Causality. Cell Metab. 2018 Sep 4;28(3):337-352. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2018.08.014. Online: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6355252/
Chiu DT, Hamlat EJ, Zhang J, Epel ES, Laraia BA. Essential Nutrients, Added Sugar Intake, and Epigenetic Age in Midlife Black and White Women: NIMHD Social Epigenomics Program. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Jul 1;7(7):e2422749. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.22749. Online: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11287388/
Hyman, Mark. The Blood Sugar Solution: The Ultrahealthy Program for Losing Weight, Preventing Disease, and Feeling Great Now. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Co, 2012.
Mosley, Michael. The 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet: How to Beat Diabetes Fast (and Stay Off Medication). New York: Atria Books, 2016 (First ed.).
Bernstein, Richard K., Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars. Little, Brown & Company, 2011 (Hardcover 4th ed.).
Illustrations
Polina Tankilevitch / pexels
Nataliya Vaitkevich / pexels
Ragabz / pixabay
Mikhail Nilov / pexels
Yan Krukau / pexels
Nataliya Vaitkevich / pexels
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