Scientists Say Sugar Could Be Source of Disease

Sugar may not only be making us fat, it could also be making us sick by leading to an increase in the risk factors for various diseases, like diabetes, heart and liver disease.

The Chicago Tribune reports that a team of scientists at the University of California in San Francisco has launched a project to warn the public about the dangers of sugar added to food and drinks.

"People are becoming literate about the toxic effects of sugar, and have more understanding of the idea that high doses are bad for one's health," Dean Schillinger, a professor of medicine at UCSF, said.

Sugars have been added to a wide variety of foods and drinks in the U.S. and so are some corn products.

"Dumping high fructose corn syrup into cheap foods, sodas, sports drinks and energy drinks is toxic to the body, causing epidemic metabolic diseases and a serious health crisis," Schillinger added.

Frank Hu, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, told the Tribune that so much sugar is added to American foods that's it just about impossible to know from food labels what kinds and amounts of sugar are in a product.