How the Sugar Industry Covered Up the Substance's Harmful Effects

Current dietary guidelines recommend a maximum daily consumption of 38 grams of sugar for men and 25 grams for women. However, most people consume far beyond these recommendations. Sugar is found in everything from cookies and cakes to bread, ketchup and fruit juice. Unfortunately, this has led to a sugar epidemic, as rates of obesity and diabetes have skyrocketed in recent years.

What's even more troubling, however, is the fact that the sugar industry attempted to conceal the substance's harmful effects from the public. A new study published in the medical journal PLOS Biology makes a startling revelation: the Sugar Association -- one of the country's biggest lobbyist organizations for the sugar industry -- attempted to hide scientific research involving the effects of processed sugar on lab rats some 50 years ago.

According to the report, two studies were conducted in the 1960s in which table sugar was fed to rats. For the first study, researchers found that feeding rats sugar resulted in higher rates of stroke, heart attack and heart disease. In the second study, researchers found that feeding rats sugar resulted in elevated levels of a specific enzyme linked to bladder cancer. While these studies could have helped educate the public on the dangerous effects of sugar, they were suppressed by the Sugar Association.

In response to these allegations, the Sugar Association issued a statement, saying the study is "a collection of speculations and assumptions about events that happened nearly five decades ago, conducted by a group of researchers and funded by individuals and organizations that are known critics of the sugar industry."

Today, however, the overwhelming amount of scientific research indicates that excessive sugar consumption is certainly bad for your health. For instance, a separate study published in the medical journal JAMA found that people who consumed 17% to 21% of their daily calories from sugar had a 38% higher risk of death from heart disease than their counterparts who only consumed 8% of their daily calories from sugar.

So, what steps can you take to cut back on your sugar consumption? First and foremost, you should take a proactive approach towards knowing what exactly you eat and drink. In other words, look at the nutrition labels to determine how much sugar food and beverage products contain.

You can also reduce your sugar intake by drinking water. Just a single 12-ounce soda contains up to 40 grams of sugar, which is more than the recommended daily allowance for men and women alike. Opting for water is a healthier choice that will hydrate your body without exposing it to excessive amounts of sugar.