The Problem With Excess Sugar Consumption In Our Lives

We face an endless barrage of sugar at every turn. Those doughnuts look great, don't they?

What about the sugar in ice cream? Other cakes and pastries? Chocolate bars? Fruits? Cereals? Juices and soft drinks?

Wherever we go, we are bombarded by it.

The complication behind it, though, lies in aesthetics and consumer appeal - because that is what is good for business. As I did mention in another article that I wrote, manufacturers are using high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as a sweetener for many of their processed products.

The economics of why HFCS is preferred is outlined here:

Even beyond cost, the reasons for using HFCS are clear. From breads that are more golden-brown and breakfast bars that are chewier, to creamier yogurts and consistently refreshing drinks, HFCS helps maintain the taste, flavor and texture that consumers have come to demand in a full range of foods. So, while HFCS and sugar have the same number of calories, in terms of finished product, versatility and cost, HFCS simply has no equal.

The biochemistry of sugar in the body

Unfortunately, HFCS does contain a high proportion of fructose sugar. They come either in solutions that contain 42% fructose (HFCS 42) or 55% fructose (HFCS 55). The rest of the solution comprises glucose and water. According to the US Food and Drug Administration, HFCS 42 is mainly used in processed foods, cereals, baked goods, and some beverages. HFCS 55 is used primarily in soft drinks.

As I did mention in this article, Is All That RAGE About AGEs Justified?:

Glucose exists as 3 different anomers in equilibrium at pH 7 — α-glucose (37%), β-glucose (0.003%), and γ-glucose (63%). The β-glucose anomer contains the reactive carbonyl group that can react with the amino groups on the protein, which we can also term as an aldehyde.

Enzymatic activity in the body will convert fructose into glyceraldehyde. In any case, glucose can also be converted into glyceraldehyde.

When we are overconsuming processed carbohydrates comprising mainly glucose and fructose, the danger then is the accumulation of all these aldehyde carbonyls in our body.

These aldehydes are highly reactive and can cause the Maillard reaction to occur within our body internally, where the carbonyl group on the sugar/aldehyde reacts with the amino group on a protein:

The Maillard reaction has three stages. First, the carbonyl group of a sugar reacts with an amino group on a protein or amino acid to produce water and an unstable glycosylamine. Then, the glycosylamine undergoes Amadori rearrangements to produce a series of aminoketose compounds. Last, a multitude of molecules, including some with flavor, aroma, and color, are created when the aminoketose compounds undergo a host of further rearrangements, conversions, additions, and polymerizations.

Have we seen that before?

Yes, diabetics would be extremely familiar with that concept, even if it isn't explicitly mentioned to them. As I have explained previously in Type 2 Diabetes — A Case of The Immune System Gone Bad, Too?:

Worse still, this glucose is reactive and can react with other biochemicals in the body in this chemical reaction known as glycation. Glycation is a common thing — most diabetics would have heard of the blood test that measures their HbA1c levels, for instance. What the HbA1c test does is that it determines how much haemoglobin (Hb) protein in our blood has been glycated by glucose into HbA1c. Hb is necessary for transporting oxygen through our blood to our cells — HbA1c cannot do that as effectively.

The HbA1c test is essentially a test of how much Hb protein in our blood has undergone the Maillard reaction into a useless glycated protein that cannot transport oxygen through the blood properly.

If you thought glycation alone was bad... wait, there's more!

These aldehydes are highly reactive. They don't have to just react with proteins.

They can react with other things to spawn other by-products that are collectively known as Advanced Glycation End products (AGEs).

Our body also contains RAGEs, or Receptors of AGEs. As it is mentioned in this article,

RAGE was discovered as a receptor for advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs), such as carboxymethyl lysine (CML). AGEs, the products of nonenzymatic glycation and oxidation of proteins, form to an accelerated degree in hyperglycemia. AGEs, largely via RAGE, activate signaling mechanisms that cause cell stress, contribute to cellular dysfunction, and damage target organs, leading to complications.

When one has hyperglycemia, they would have a higher than usual concentration of glucose in their blood, which leads to the formation of more AGEs.

AGEs signal RAGEs to stimulate an inflammatory signal, which results in an accelerated transcription of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin 1-beta (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α).

These four pro-inflammatory cytokines do contribute to insulin resistance, where they signal cells in the body to take in less glucose than usual based on the prevailing insulin signal that is sent out.

A prolonged insulin resistance can lead to the accumulation of glucose in the blood, which we can then term as Type 2 diabetes.

So while it is common knowledge that excessive refined sugar consumption can lead to Type 2 diabetes, the link isn't as direct as what most of us believe it to be.

There would be an elevated level of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the blood at the beginning stages from that overconsumption of sugar.

But what's worse?

We may not even contract Type 2 diabetes first.

These pro-inflammatory cytokines can affect the dynamic equilibrium that other processes in our body are operating at.

For example, as I do highlight in The Delicate Balance Of A Steady State To Maintain A Healthy Body, the pro-inflammatory cytokines can also contribute to an accelerated bone and joint degeneration.

Translation: One might develop osteoporosis or osteoarthritis before getting to Type 2 diabetes. These pathways run parallel. It all depends on what is the weakest domino that falls first.

Meanwhile, look at the Type 2 diabetics that you do know of. How many do suffer joint degeneration issues? How many have gone on to develop Alzheimer's or other neurodegenerative diseases? Is brain degeneration all that it's cracked up to be? Not so now, is it?

And that's what the doctors won't necessarily tell someone a pre-diabetic patient who is already experiencing slightly elevated blood glucose concentrations!

It's not just about reducing sugar consumption - it's about dealing with the internal inflammatory signalling pathways that have gone awry in the body.

Because if the awry signalling pathways have not been dealt with...

How is the immune system going to respond to a viral infection then?

Is that why Type 2 diabetics are also at higher risk of developing more severe symptoms from a COVID-19 infection, then?

Joel Yong, PhD, is a biochemical engineer/scientist, an educator and a writer. He has authored 1 ebook (which is available on Amazon.com in Kindle format) and co-authored 6 journal articles in internationally peer-reviewed scientific journals. His main focus is on finding out the fundamentals of biochemical mechanisms in the body that the doctors don't educate the lay people about, and will then proceed to deconstruct them for your understanding - as an educator should. Do visit his website here to connect.