"Beware of sweet dainties; they are a deceitful food"
                --  Proverbs 23:3

The problems with sugar are well documented in major medical journals
worldwide.  Yet we continue to ignore the warnings.  Sugar has been shown to:

Increase the risk for breast cancer
Double the risk for biliary tract cancer
Interfere with the absorption of calcium and magnesium
Increase cholesterol and insulin levels
Raise blood pressure
Raise triglycerides
Weaken the immune system
Cause a deficiency of copper
Cause to varicose veins
Damage the kidneys
Cause or worsen arthritis
Cause migraine headaches
Cause gallstones
Contribute to obesity
(All of the above statements are referenced below.)

Sugar is not a pick-me-up.  It is a drag-you-down.  As sugar burns out our
blood sugar balancing mechanisms, it makes us want more.  We can no longer
keep our own sugar levels balanced, and want sugar as often as possible to
relieve depression or low energy levels.  We are caught in a vicious circle.
 The way out is to avoid it completely.

Sugar also depresses immune function by encouraging the overgrowth of a yeast
organism known as candida albicans.  Candida is a yeast naturally present in
small amounts in everyone's intestinal tract.  But when sugar is consumed,
candida may overgrow, leading to bloating, gas, depression, low energy
levels, and a host of other problems.  Sugar in and of itself does not always
lead to candida overgrowth.  Consuming sugar regularly, however,
significantly increases the chances that the yeast organism known as candida
albicans will change into its fungal form, overgrow in the GI tract and
elsewhere in the body, and cause health problems.

In China, sugar is applied externally to help wounds heal.  That's the first
genuinely beneficial use for sugar I've ever heard

Robert Crayhon
[log in to unmask]

References

 "Dietary Factors in Hormone-Dependent Cancers", Carroll, K.K., in Current
Concepts in Nutrition, Vol. 6., Nutrition and Cancer, New York, John Wiley
and Sons, 1977, 25-40.

 "Diet and Breast Cancer: The Possible Connection with Sugar Consumption",
Seely, S., Horrobin, D.F., Medical Hypotheses, 11 (3): 319-27, 1983.

 "Dietary Sugar Intake in the Etiology of Biliary Tract Cancer", Moerman,
Clara J., et al, International Journal of Epidemiology, 1993; 22: 207-214.

 "Evidence that Glucose Ingestion Inhibits Net Renal Tubular Reabsorption of
Calcium and Magnesium", Lemann, J., Journal of Laboratory and Clinical
Medicine, 70: 236-245.

 "Diets High in Glucose or Sucrose and Young Women", Kelsay, J., et al,
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1974, 27: 926-936.

 "Effects of Dietary Sugars on Metabolic Risk Factors Associated with Heart
Disease", Reiser, S., Nutritional Health, 1985, 3:203-216.

 "Carbohydrates and Blood Pressure", Hodges, R. and Rebello, T., Annals of
Internal Medicine, 1983, 98: 838-841.

 "The Effect of Dietary Sucrose on Blood Lipids, Serum Insulin, Platelet
Adhesiveness and Body Weight in Human Volunteers", Scanto, S., and Yudkin,
John, Postgraduate Medical Journal, 1969, 45: 602-607.

 "Role of Sugars in Human Neutrophilic Phagocytosis", Sanchez, A., et al,
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, November, 1973, pp. 1180-84.

 "Sucrose, Neutrophilic Phagocytosis and Resistance to Disease", Ringsdorf,
W., Cheraskin, E., and Ramsay, R., Dental Survey, 52, 12: 46-48.

 "Effect of Copper Deficiency on Metabolism and Mortality in Rats Fed Sucrose
or Starch Diets", Fields, M. et. al., Journal of Nutrition, 1983, 113:
1335-1345.

 Diabetes, Coronary Thrombosis and the Saccharine Disease, Cleave, T. and
Campbell, G., Bristol, England, John Wright and Sons, 1960.

 "Effects of High Dietary Sugar", Yudkin, J., et al, British Journal of
Medicine, November 22, 1980, 281: 139

 "Placebo Controlled Blind Study of Dietary Manipulation Therapy in
Rheumatoid Arthritis", Darlington, L., Ramsay and Mansfield, Lancet, February
6, 1986, pp. 236-238.

 "Food Allergies and Migraine", Grand, E., Lancet, 1979, 1:955-959

 "The Sweet Road to Gallstones", Heaton, K., British Medical Journal, April
14, 1984, 228: 1103-4.

 "Nutrient Intake, Adiposity and Diabetes", Keen H., et al, British Medical
Journal, 1974, 655-658.