Sorry Coca-Cola and all other calorie fundamentalists out there. The evidence is in and it's NOT just about energy balance. Sugar appears to actually be toxic in itself.
More and more people have long suspected that sugar is one of the main drivers of the obesity epidemic, and the diseases related to it, like type 2 diabetes. Lots of studies points in that direction. But it's a hard thing to definitely prove. A new study published today strengthens the argument considerably.
The study had 43 kids with obesity and metabolic syndrome eat less sugar for just 10 days. Importantly they had just as many calories, the only difference was that the fructose from sugar was replaced with starch.
The result was improvement in just about all factors connected to metabolic syndrome: better blood pressure, better blood sugar, way lower insulin, even without any effect on weight. All this by reducing sugar and NOT calories, for just 10 days.
The story is all over the media today:
The study: