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The immune system is continually responding to endogenous and exogenous stimuli. Whether from the foods we eat, our sleep and exercise habits, stress, relationships, or the air we breathe, the body is always looking for ways to maintain homeostasis. A 2018 review showed that 83 research studies concluded that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables actually helps improve immune function. Conversely, a diet rich in processed foods and man-made sugars can suppress the immune system. However, it’s not always that simple.
Sugar may or may not act as an immunosuppressant, depending on different conditions in the body. As a general rule, excessive sugar consumption depletes the body’s nutrient balance, which triggers a cascade of inflammation and metabolic disruption. However, saying sugar is always bad for our health might be overgeneralized. For example, the effects of sugar on the immune system do differ depending on whether the host is infected with a bacterium or a virus.
In order to understand sugar’s role in the immune system, we need to review phagocytes. Phagocytes are cells that protect the body by engulfing bacterial waste and small foreign particles. The process of phagocytosis differs from autophagy because phagocytes consume large particles like bacteria while autophagy is the taking up and repurposing of internal organelles such as mitochondria. Phagocytes work to destroy particles like bacteria that could infect the host. There are five main types of phagocytes:
Ruslan Medzhitov, professor of immunobiology at Yale University, challenged the ancient wisdom of starving a fever and feeding a cold. He explains that both viruses and bacteria can cause a fever. Medzhitov’s research has brought him to the following conclusion:
“Starve a bacterial infection and stuff a viral infection.”
He explains that we are not feeding or starving the bacteria or viruses, rather modulating the inflammation resulting from the infection. Depending on the source of inflammation, fasting has different consequences.
Diet Can Shift the Microbiome in 24 Hours
Consuming carbohydrates that are rich in sugars (such as dates) encourages the proliferation of good bacteria such as Bifidobacteria while reducing the growth of tumor cells. Thus, suggesting that labeling sugar as “bad” and an immunosuppressant may be inaccurate.
Conversely, when fed a high-fat or high-sugar diet, animal models showed circadian disorganization and loss in microbial diversity. The changes in the microbiota due to the diet shift may significantly alter inflammatory markers. Shifts in circadian rhythm in mice fed high-fat, high-sugar for 10 weeks also resulted in intestinal permeability, and reduced microbial diversity, which makes them more susceptible to injury and disease.
Fructose is a common additive in processed foods. In fact, fructose now accounts for 10% of caloric intake in the United States. Fructose itself is not bad, but the overconsumption of it that can impact the body. Fructose can be broken down in the colon when consume in small doses. High doses of fructose, on the other hand (e.g., over half a can of sugary soda), can damage the liver.
Moreover, the ability of the body to break down fructose is dose-dependent and influenced by genetics. The availability of protein GLUT5, which can be a genetic factor, impacts how well a person can tolerate fructose. For some, excess fructose can lead to bloating, abdominal pain, and bowel discomfort, as bacteria in the gut ferment the fructose, resulting in off-gasses.
The process used to make HFCS was developed in the ‘70s so it’s a relatively new addition to the human diet and it’s made from genetically modified enzymes and corn. When fed to male rats, HFCS led to young rats suffering from anemia, high cholesterol, and heart hypertrophy. These rats didn’t reach adulthood and their female counterparts were infertile.
Other artificial sweeteners, such as Saccharin (Sweet’N Low®, SugarTwin®), Acesulfame K (Sunett®, Sweet One®), and Sucralose (Splenda®) were previously thought to be a non-caloric sugar alternative but now been found to alter gut microbiota and drive the development of glucose intolerance.
The Bottom Line Sugar in all its forms impacts the immune system, especially when consumed in high doses. It’s not accurate, however, to assume that sugar is bad for the immune system in all cases. When it comes to viruses, glucose was shown to potentially be beneficial. On the flip side, a bacterial infection requires abstinence from sugar. Man-made sweeteners, like aspartame and HFCS, have serious deleterious effects on the immune system, especially on infants, and, as such, should be avoided.
Dr. Patrick Lovegrove is board certified by the American Board of Family Physicians. He was born in Staunton, Virginia, and graduated from the University of Virginia where he majored in Biology. He received a Medical School Scholarship from the United States Air Force. A graduate of Nova Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine, his over 20 years of clinical experience includes Family Practice, Anti-aging, Holistic Internal Medicine, Pain Management, Aerospace, Sports, and Emergency Medicine. He believes that holistic medicine should be integrated with conventional medicine in a scientifically based model to achieve the best results for patients.
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