The Not-So-Sweet History of Sugar
Illustration © D. Yael Bernhard
Sugar is ubiquitous in our society. Our daily lives are laced with sweeteners, from the teaspoon of sugar in our morning coffee to lollypops on the counter at the bank. Sugar plays a leading role in cultural events, as no celebration, vacation, or holiday is complete without sweets and treats. Often, desserts are the grand finale of a special occasion – with over-the-top amounts of sugar.
Sugar is less obvious but just as common in manufactured foods ranging from ketchup to toothpaste to salad dressing. In smaller amounts, it shows up naturally in fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans. Whether sucrose or fructose, honey or maple syrup, maltose or dextrose, stevia or agave, molasses, cane juice or corn syrup, sugar is found in all sweeteners, as well as alcoholic beverages. All carbohydrates, including pasta, bread, and everything made from flour break down into sugar in the gut – making this ingredient the superstar of the modern diet.
Yet merely a century ago, sugar was barely a supporting actor on the average American plate.1 The sugarcane plant is native to tropical climates, and requires both abundant water and heat in order to thrive. It quickly exhausts the soil of nutrients, and is a labor-intensive crop to harvest and process. To fill this need, the trans-Atlantic slave trade brought millions of Africans to the Caribbean. The first sugarcane plantations were established in the 15th century by Portuguese colonists in Brazil. French and English colonies in the West Indies soon followed suit in order to feed sugar-hungry aristocrats in Europe and America. Originally an indulgence only for the rich, sugar was once served from expensive silver sugar bowls with silver spoons, or broken off from large crystals with the use of a special tool called a "sugar nip."2
Subsidized by the U.S. government since 1789 – one of the first legislative initiatives signed into law by our fledgling nation – the sugar industry presently receives an average of $4 billion each year.3 In 1864, the American Sugar Refining Company began regulating the pricing and profits of this rapidly growing commodity. In 1900, the ASRC created Domino Sugar, which controlled 97% of the nation's sugar manufacturing. In 1908, sugar cubes were first introduced in Paris.4 Believed to be a source of energy, sugar was given to victims of the 1918 flu pandemic5 – which we now know only increased the mortality rate. By the middle of the 20th century, beetroots were cultivated as a new source of sugar, and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) was developed – not a syrup made from corn, but a chemical conversion of cornstarch by an acid-enzyme into glucose and "free fructose" (fruit sugar separated from its natural fiber). Thanks to government subsidies, the low cost and lighter weight of HFCS quickly made it America's sweetener of choice – especially for beverages, condiments, and processed foods.6
Yet despite its innocent-sounding name, HFCS is the devil to human health, linked to diabetes, obesity, fatty liver disease, cancer, high triglycerides, and much more.7 Fructose is stored as fat – think of bears eating berries to fatten up for winter – and free fructose, whether in corn syrup or common orange juice – is so unnatural, it is to human bodies as headlights are to deer. Today the average American consumes over 40 pounds of HFCS and 50 pounds of sucrose each year. The United States produces about nine million tons of sugar annually, ranking this mass-manufactured product sixth in global production.
Unfortunately for our collective sweet tooth, in the scope of evolution our bodies have not even begun to adapt to all this sugar consumption. Our ancestors gathered wild dates and figs that were heavily fibrous, slowing down digestion and the release of sugar into the bloodstream. Honey was a rare find, and wild grapes were much less sweet than they are today. Our bodies are not designed to have insulin, the hormone released by the pancreas in response to sugar, circulating continuously in our bloodstream. Though our society's tastes have changed, our metabolism has not. Sugar is the primary fuel for cancer, essentially enabling rogue cells to grow by fermentation; and creating conditions in which viruses (including Covid) and yeast thrive.8 9 Insulin resistance, caused by excess insulin, is known to cause diabetes, which has increased exponentially since common table sugar became affordable to the average citizen. Insulin resistance also contributes to numerous chronic diseases such as arthritis, osteoporosis, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, gingivitis, and even Alzheimer's disease – now known as "type 3 diabetes" or "diabetes of the brain." These conditions have skyrocketed in America since HFCS became widely used in the 1980s.10
How can something so sweet and delicious be so destructive? In a word, inflammation. Excess insulin triggered by too much sugar breaks down into free radicals, which behave much like bouncing balls in a china shop, damaging every cell they touch – including epithelial cells in blood vessels, delicate cell membranes, our cellular energy factories known as mitochondria – and DNA itself. To repair this damage, the body calls forth inflammatory cytokines. Inflammation is useful when temporary, but as the body is continually flooded with sugar and insulin, chronic inflammation can bring about a cascade of negative effects that result in the diseases that are epidemic in our society today. These problems use up the precious resources of the immune system, making people more vulnerable to cancer, viruses, and bacteria – at an incalculable cost to individuals, families, and medical systems.
Sugar is addictive, triggering the release of dopamine, the hormone of reward-seeking that leads to cravings for more. Sugar is literally killing us, and has enslaved us as surely as the slaves that once sweated and toiled on sugarcane plantations were bound and whipped by cruel and ruthless masters.
Unfortunately, artificial sweeteners are no better. Despite their lack of calories, they still trigger the release of insulin through our taste buds, and they do significant harm to the oral and gut microbiome. Artificial sweeteners slow down metabolism, causing weight gain, and trigger the overgrowth of bad bacteria that cause everything from dental caries to irritable bowel syndrome and more. The only exception as of this writing is monk fruit sweetener.
Depending on the circles you travel, to give up these deadly sweeteners in today's world is to be a social misfit. Not eating sugar or flour is considered an "extreme" thing to do (but risking catastrophic illness and resorting to toxic or invasive treatments is not). Yet it's no overstatement to say that eliminating sugar from your diet is the single most powerful thing you can do to reduce inflammation, protect your vital organs, prevent chronic disease, guard against cognitive decline, and improve your overall health.11 Give your body a ten-day break from all refined sugar and starch, and you may feel significant improvement in your digestion, energy, sleep patterns, mood, body weight, and above all, any inflammatory condition, from carpal tunnel to tinnitus, from acne to arthritis. Since inflammation is increasingly known to underlie almost all chronic disease, this is a game changer. Without sugar, cancer cells can't thrive; cholesterol is less likely to oxidize and attract dangerous LDL particles; the liver is unburdened by the task of converting fructose to fat; and harmful strains of gut bacteria diminish. The list of benefits also includes more resilient blood vessels, balanced hormones, disappearing headaches, steadier mood, lower blood pressure, and better digestion.
Many people contend they enjoy eating sweets and don't want to give them up, despite the consequences. These short-sighted cravings give voice to the most widespread addiction on our planet. What will generate more happiness in the long run – to keep eating cereal and bagels for breakfast at the risk of heart attack, stroke, or dementia – or to start your day with eggs and broccoli instead?
In ancient Greece and Rome, sugar was known as the "sweet salt" that had mysterious curative powers. Over the centuries, sugar has been a medicine, a spice, a symbol of royalty, a driver of industry, and an instrument of oppression, disease, and addiction. What role do you want with this curious crystal to play in your personal history?
Consider the benefits of an informed choice, and know your cravings for sweets will quickly abate once you cease to consume them. I stopped eating sugar a year ago – except for what is naturally found in beans, whole grains, vegetables, and low-glycemic fruits such as apples, pears, and berries. Though some of my friends think I’ve lost my mind, I'm happy to report life is still sweet without sugar.
To your good health –
D. Yael Bernhard
Certified Integrative Health & Nutrition Coach
Yael Bernhard is a writer and illustrator with a lifelong passion for nutrition and herbal medicine. She was certified by Duke University as an Integrative Health Coach in 2021 and by Cornell University in Nutrition & Healthy Living in 2022. For information about private health coaching or nutrition programs for schools, please respond directly to this newsletter, or email dyaelbernhard@protonmail.com.
Information in this newsletter is provided for educational purposes only.
As a fan of your illustrations since I started purchasing We'Moons, this is such a treat. I think about sugar consumption all the time. So informative. Thank you, Yael!