That's a point that most vanguard food writers make. Michael Pollan says the same, although he is more concerned about HFCS.

Robert Lustig held a conference called something like The Toxic Truth. You can find it on YouTube via USCF. He makes a very convincing point and explains everything thoroughly.

The concept of sugar being toxic makes some sort of sense to me, but I don't believe that it should be eradicated from our diets completely. Everything in moderation and its natural state (no HFCS, artificial sweeteners, GMO sugars, etc.).

Too much of ANYTHING can be toxic. Sugar in and of itself is not toxic.

I agree with the doctor. All sugars including honey or palm sugar if used in excess will lead to bad health. All things in moderation no matter where they come from.

Sounds like fear-mongering to me. Can't watch the video right now at work, but will check it out later. People have been eating sugar for thousands of years... maybe you could go as far as to say it's "bad" for you, but the choice of word "toxic" is a clear manipulation and exaggeration.

Am currently reading a Home Economics textbook published in 1949. In it, it advocates for avoiding sugar as often as possible, though molasses and fruit are okay because they have vitamins. It also touts whole grains, plenty of colorful, vitamin-rich vegetables, eating some raw foods everyday, and consuming plenty of dairy and eggs, and only a little meat. It also indicates that people should spend a quarter to half of their income on food and that vitamin pills are inferior to vitamins from foods, because not all vitamins have been discovered yet and whole fruits and vegetables would have those undiscovered vitamins where pills would not.

Funny how history repeats itself like that...

For those who can't watch the video, Dr. Lustig says it may be eaten in moderation, just like alcohol is toxic but we still consume it in moderation. But, to Dr. Lustig, "in moderation" means about 100 calories worth for women (maybe 150 or 200 for men, I forget)- much less than most Americans eat. I will never eliminate sugar from my diet because I really enjoy dessert, but I did find the 60 minutes piece to be compelling and will try to cut down as a result of it. I skipped the honey on my morning yogurt today . . .

Thanks for sharing, EK76. To me, life is too short to worry about having a little sweet now and then. But if it makes you feel better I say more power to ya :)

Mark Sisson (Mark's Daily Apple) and Jack Kruse also have lots more info on this type of diet ("paleo") if anyone is inclined to read more.

I get very angry when I hear people say "life's too short" to worry about what you eat. Sugar is making a huge portion of the population's life EVEN SHORTER. Diabetes is reeking havoc on my family, so I most certainly believe that sugar in almost all forms is toxic (raw fruit being the ONLY exception). I've been dealt a bad hand when it comes to genetics. I've been an over eater since childhood and have suffered the real effects of food addiction as an adolescent and young adult. I can tell you that sugar is an addictive substance. At the age of 27, I am working to delay the onset of diabetes by reducing my sugar intake to next to nil. Despite my very healthy lifestyle (less than 1500 calories a day, frequent cardio exercise), I still carry stubborn abdominal fat (visceral fat) so I know that diabetes for me isn't a matter of IF but WHEN. Avoiding sugar now could perhaps add 10 to 15 years on my life, so please don't say that life's too short to worry about what I eat. Life is too precious not to.

The Robert Lustig conference on YouTube that I mentioned in my first comment is called Sugar: The Bitter Truth--if anyone is interested.

Definitely thought that was a tampon in the picture. I know this doesn't add to the discussion, but there you have it.

kariak - I am with you on this one. I have father and grandfather that are diabetic, so I worry about it, and since I was young, we joined my dad in the no added sugar and in eating foods that have less sugar - this curbed my palate at a young age and now I CAN NOT stand desserts - I find everything made in the US very sweet (especially prepacked foods). I always avoid grapes, watermelon, and all the fruit that are packed in fructose - sugar is sugar no matter where is derived from. I was very upset when they misdiagnosed me with gestetational diabetes in week 30 of my pregnancy since I eat super healthy for 15 years now. I do take supplements of vitamin D3 tho, bcs I live mostly indoors and D3 is key for a lot of good functions in our system (I think the key to the mediterranean diet - that is marketed so much as the best one, is bcs people that live in the Med, live outdoors - fresh air and sun make one healthy if they eat in moderation, freshly cooked produce and walk everyday as a minimal form of excercise.

mimee25 - :)

Eh, I refuse to believe that sugar "in all its forms" is "toxic." Sounds like more extremist dieting to me. First it was no fat, then no carbs, and now no sugar. The human body needs some amount of carbs, fat, and sugar just to survive. Eat a mixed, natural diet, avoid processed foods, and don't overeat. Unless you're sick or have a disorder, I don't think it's more complicated than that.

I do not have a problem with diabetes or other related health problems. However I refuse to give into the fearmongering perpetuated by articles like this. Life is too short for me to completely eliminate something that I enjoy in moderation every once in awhile. I am sorry for those who do have problems but your problems are not mine.

tox·ic   /ˈ1. of, pertaining to, affected with, or caused by a toxin or poison: a toxic condition.
2. acting as or having the effect of a poison; poisonous: a toxic drug.

It just irritates the hell out of me when people throw around the word toxic. Is sugar actually TOXIC? Or is it just BAD FOR YOU? The brain runs on glucose, people, which makes me very very much doubt that sugar can possibly be toxic to the human body. Can an excess of sugar cause all kinds of health problems? Yes, obviously it can. But glucose is a sugar. So when someone claims that all forms of sugar, in any amount, are toxic, I'm thinking "you are a crank."

For those of you who are skeptical, if you listened to what he has to say, you'd learn that he isn't just throwing around the word "toxic." You can choose to accept his research findings or not, but as with anything, unless you've heard the explanation, you can't jump to conclusions and write something as fearmongering or alarmist.

I did read the transcript, and actually, the researcher does admit that the fructose in, say, an orange is not toxic. (True: an orange is not toxic.) He then goes on to say all sugar is toxic. (If an orange is not toxic, and an orange contains fructose, then all sugar is not toxic. Or it is. In which case, don't eat that orange.)

Look, this guy is just the latest crank getting media attention by taking an extreme or "shocking" position for the sake of making his point. His point is there is a lot of hidden sugar in processed food, and that it's bad for everyone's health. That is absolutely true. Having added sugar in literally everything you eat is definitely not good. Do many people not realize how much added sugar they actually consure. Sure! That's true.

But that still doesn't make sugar toxic. This is what I call quackery in a good cause. But a quack is a quack.

I will say I didn't watch the video or read the transcript. But naturally a lot (if not all) of foods contain sugar too- fruits, carrots, potatoes, beets, even broccoli and brussels sprouts. So honestly, sugar can't be "toxic" That being said- excess intake of sugar would be bad for you like all other things in life.

I think this would be more helpful if people preached moderation instead of "hey this is the one thing that is super bad and will kill you earlier!" How about we advocate instead of eating an ice cream sundae daily for dessert, maybe have some fruit instead. I think that would be more meaningful than saying sugar is toxic and will kill you. The term toxic should really only be used for things like sodium azide or something else that will kill you after ingestion.

I do believe sugar is toxic. But that's a very broad sense of the term toxic. I also believe that alcohol is toxic. In that our bodies process it as such, trying to eliminate it quickly. But is it inherently bad for us?

NO. WAY. In small amounts, any healthy body can tolerate alcohol and even benefit from it. Sugar maybe less so; I can't think of any benefits of sugar at all, but it's certainly not toxic in small levels unless you have a metabolic disorder. Some bodies don't like it, fair enough. But the problem is that we eat way too much of it in our culture. We need to really take a look at sugar being more appropriate for occasional use rather than an every day mainstay, which is clearly is right now for the majority of people.

I too take the stance that life's too short to worry about everything that might kill me. Driving too can kill me. I do that everyday.
Everything in moderation is my principle in life. If that's not yours, more the power to you.

Just as a counter-argument to those whose family members are suffering from health problems due to excess sugar in our diet (knowingly or not), my maternal grandmother is currently 85. Since she was a baby, she has been on a strict all-meat, no-vegetable, high-calorie, high-sugar diet. She eats all kinds of sweets everyday. She walks faster than me. I'm not recommending this kind of diet to anyone, but I'm just trying to make a point that our bodies react to things differently, so these studies can serve as a reference but will not dictate how I live my life.
On the other hand, my paternal grandmother took all of these studies into heart. She structured her diet based solely on these studies. She gave up many food she loved because one day a study would come up saying how those things are bad for her. She past away few years ago because she couldn't recover from a nasty cold. The doctor said that she didn't have enough nutrient in her body to fight the bacteria.
My maternal grandmother eats anything she likes. She seems happy. Living such a long life is definitely a bonus, but the key is to be happy. If that means indulge in a piece of chocolate once a day, I think I'll do that.

I'm not on the side of never eating sugar, but it drives me crazy when people say "everything in moderation." Everything? A little cocaine in moderation?

Can anyone else see the jello ad on the right side of the screen? Cake mix, jello, and frosting. Yum. lol

My husband took a class at Stanford called The Aging Brain and all of the studies pertaining to a healthy brain showed that sugar really is toxic. You can be taking a healthy course of action for your brain but then once you add sugar all of the benefits are gone. I need to remember this cause I buy those cheap Mexican pastries in my corner market too often.

Most individuals consume far too much sugar - remember that carbs break down into glucose...so all that bread and pasta adds to ones sugar consumption. If you can completely eliminate something like sugar from your diet, more power to you. If you cannot, then reduce your consumption. Michael Pollan's books address sugar consumption in a way that doesn't make me think The Sky Is Falling.
East Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants. Oh, and Treat Treats as Treats.

Oh, sweet heavenly days. If sugar were toxic I'd have been dead years ago. Of course, I cook at home using fresh food so I'm not wallowing in HFCS.