Stay in Touch
January 5, 2016
Once again, an animal study that links consuming sugar to cancer is being sensationalized. Studies like this have made news periodically for decades, yet when the full body of science on the subject is evaluated, no credible link between ingested sugars and cancer has been established.
As with other studies on this subject, this study has serious limitations that should be disclosed, particularly when the headlines are as serious as these have been. Not only do the authors misstate and exaggerate current U.S. sugar consumption and trends in consumption, they also claim the mice in the study were fed sugar levels comparable to levels in a Western diet. Yet, the data provided shows the mice were fed massive amounts of fructose (as part of sucrose) with the lowest level of fructose fed more than double U.S. consumption.
While the authors are quick to say the finding are the result of fructose, they state that “it is unclear how fructose alters 12-LOX abundance and 12-HETE production.” This is not a minor point, nor is the fact that the diets contained physiologically challenging and unrealistic quantities of fructose. Past animal studies have already shown that excessive levels of fructose that exceed the animal’s ability to metabolize the nutrient lead to metabolic disruptions including pro-inflammatory activity. The fact that these points aren’t discussed in detail in the paper and in the media coverage is vastly misleading.
Those reporting on this study should have also disclosed that the study was funded by EOG Resources (an oil and gas company) and its Board member Leighton Steward. Leighton Steward is an author of Sugar Busters, a late 1990s anti-sugar book.
When it comes to studies that concern cancer, the scientific community and the media should strive to maintain the highest standard of scientific integrity to ensure the public is not needlessly scared or misled. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case in the coverage of this study.
August 9, 2022
WASHINGTON, Aug. 9, 2022 – The Sugar Association (SAI) today announced the celebration of the first annual National Real Sugar Day, taking place October 14, 2022, as a day to celebrate real sugar with the people who bring it from farm to table and those individuals and families who enjoy it as part of a […]
March 8, 2022
March 8, 2022 Washington, DC – The Sugar Association today submitted a supplemental petition to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to further support its call for sweeping reform of federal regulations governing the labeling of artificial sweeteners used in packaged foods. “FDA action on alternative sweetener labeling reform is long overdue, and we […]
September 22, 2021
September 22, 2021 Washington, D.C. – More than 10,000 consumers across the United States have joined the fight for sweeping reform of the government’s labeling regulations covering the use of alternative sweeteners in packaged food by signing an online petition urging the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to require food companies to place clear, […]
© 2022 The Sugar Association, Inc. All rights reserved.
Get Social with #MoreToSugar