Sugar vs Drug: Both are Poisons
POISON is understood as “any substance applied to the body, ingested, or developed within the body, which causes or may cause disease” (1957 medical research definition used in the works of Dr William Coda Martin — now a geriatrician, associated with Coler Memorial Hospital in New York). The dictionary definition of poison is “to exert a harmful influence on, or to pervert” (William Dufty in Sugar Blues).
In this respect, a drug is a poison. And so is sugar. Sugar is addictive like a drug (causing hyperactivity to depression), has withdrawal symptoms like a drug, and poses harm like a drug.
Dr David Reuben, author of Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Nutrition says, “…white refined sugar is not a food. It is a pure chemical extracted from plant sources, purer in fact than cocaine, which it resembles in many ways.
“Its true name is sucrose and its chemical formula is C12H22O11. It has 12 carbon atoms, 22 hydrogen atoms, 11 oxygen atoms, and absolutely nothing else to offer.”
The chemical formula for cocaine is C17H21NO4. Sugar’s formula again is C12H22O11. For all practical purposes, the difference is that sugar is missing the “N”, or nitrogen atom.
The following facts, from the article, “Sugar’s Effect on Skin and Acne” by C.J. King, shows how methamphetamine, also known as “ice” (a very addictive stimulant drug that is injected, snorted, smoked or ingested orally), one of the most popular illicit drugs in the US, is similar to sugar (a “food” we take daily) in their detrimental effects on the body.
Short-term Side Effects of Methamphetamine:
- A false sense of well-being
- Convulsions, twitching and jerking
- Aggressive behaviour
- Increased heart rate
- Increased muscle tension, grinding of teeth
- Stimulation of the adrenal gland
- Constriction of blood vessels
- Rise in blood pressure
- Impaired speech
- Dry, itchy skin
- Loss of appetite
- Hallucinations
- Acne, sores
- Paranoia
- Insomnia
IN 1986, the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) came out with a report concerning the consumption of sugar in the United States, and whether this consumption of sugar had ill effects on the health of the people.
The FDA based its conclusions on scientific research reported in medical journals from around the world. One of the conclusions of the report was that when sugar is eaten in large quantities — 25-50% or more of the dietary calories of humans or animals — the following conditions can develop: diabetes mellitus, glucose intolerance (hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia), cardiovascular risk, behaviour changes, excess secretion of calcium in the urine, gallstones, and mineral deficiencies.
This article is excerpted from the CAP Book: How Sugar Destroys Your Health. Available Here.