It’s sugar of course!
Everyone knows that naturopaths are all sour old wowsers who are constantly plotting new ways to deprive you of yet another of life’s little pleasures — things like sugar, coffee, cake, alcohol and cigarettes. Surely there can’t be any scientific reason for denying ourselves some indulgence now and again?
If only that were true. Unfortunately, the research suggests that continued consumption of sugar in amounts many of us see as ‘normal’ can have big impacts of our immune system and health.
Australians like sugar, and lots of it. In a mid-1990s survey of items purchased from Australian supermarkets, nine of the top 10 most-purchased items were high-sugar-content convenience foods such as fizzy soft drinks and confectionery. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures for 1998-99 put the total annual consumption of sugar in Australia at 43.4 kilograms per person1.
One disturbing study of the impact of this kind of sugar intake found that when healthy volunteers are given sugar, important immune cells called neutrophils fail to function properly2. Neutrophils are white blood cells which play a key part in fighting bacterial infections. Just six teaspoons of sugar dropped their ability to destroy bacteria by 29 percent. Twenty teaspoons basically wiped out the neutrophils’ germ-killing ability altogether and it took five hours for them to recover.
Perhaps 20 teaspoons sounds like a lot — who would ever swallow that much? — but the average can of soft drink has around 7-10 teaspoons of sugar, so just two cans contain enough sugar to knock your neutrophils out for hours.
This effect of sugar was clearly demonstrated in an assessment of the diets of 241 people with type 1 diabetes4. Researchers found “a striking direct correlation between the overall prevalence of infection and the [average] plasma glucose [blood sugar] levels (p < 0.001).” In particular, people with higher blood sugar levels were less able to fight off Staphylococcus aureus (‘golden staph’) and Escherichia coli (faecal coliform) infections.
Naturopaths have also observed over many years that a high intake of sugar hinders recovery from a Candida albicans (thrush) overgrowth.
A trial using mice demonstrated this effect. When researchers infected mice with Candida then suppressed their immune systems with an anticancer drug, the Candida multiplied and became invasive depending on the amount of sugar they consumed3. Eighty percent of mice that were fed glucose in their drinking water developed “extensive invasive [Candida] growth” compared to only 8 percent of those that received normal drinking water or water with xylitol (a natural sweetener) added (p = 0.00006). “These results indicate that dietary glucose intake is a key determinant of Candida albicans growth in the gastrointestinal tract,” the researchers concluded.
These experiments strongly suggest that a key time to limit your sugar intake is if you have a serious infection or are trying to get rid of Candida. It’s especially important if your immune system is below par.
Lots of sugar can have many other bad effects. It can, for example, also raise liver enzymes. This can be bad news for people who are already struggling with liver toxicity due to drug side effects or viral hepatitis.
An experimental, 18 day, high-sugar diet involving 28 people raised the liver enzymes ALT and AST significantly6. ALT and AST levels are markers of liver damage. Two people in the study increased their liver enzymes so much they had to withdraw. Researchers concluded that “both surplus calories and a high sucrose intake played a role in the elevation of enzyme levels.”
Reducing sugar intake can be an important health promoting strategy for people with HIV. Make an honest assessment of the amount of sugar you’re eating — count all the chocolate, jam, honey, confectionery, teaspoons in your coffee and so on, and read the labels on packaged food. Look for sugar listed as corn or maple syrup, honey, glucose, invert sugar or sucrose. Ingredients are listed in decreasing amounts, so if sugar is near the top of the list it’s a high-sugar food.
If you’re looking for a sugar substitutes, I’d recommend steering clear of aspartame and other artificial sweeteners. The only two I would suggest are xylitol or the herb Stevia. Both are available in health food stores.
Jim Arachne is the Complementary Therapy Treatment Officer for the Victorian AIDS Council.
References
1 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Apparent Consumption of Foodstuffs, Australia. ABS 4306.0 (2000)
2 Sanchez A, et al., Role of sugars in human neutrophilic phagocytosis. Am J Clin Nutr, 26(11):1180-4 1973 Nov
3 Vargas SL, et al., Modulating effect of dietary carbohydrate supplementation on Candida albicans colonization and invasion in a neutropenic mouse model. Infection and Immunity 1993;61: 619-626.
4 Rayfield EJ; et al., Infection and diabetes: the case for glucose control. Am J Med 1982 Mar;72(3):439-50
5 De Stefani E, Dietary sugar and lung cancer: a case-control study in Uruguay. Nutr Cancer 1998;31(2):132-7
6 Porikos KP et al., Diet-induced changes in serum transaminase and triglyceride levels in healthy adult men. Role of sucrose and excess calories. Am J Med. 1983 Oct;75(4):624-30.
