The gist of the 9 page article is that when fructose (which makes up about 50% of table sugar, raw sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and the sugar in fruit) is ingested in significant quantities and is absorbed quickly (for instance when drinking a pop), the liver and pancreas freak out. A bunch of insulin is produced, and if this happens frequently enough, a person will develop insulin resistance and get fat, then die of heart disease or cancer.
So, frequently eating too much sugar will cause blood sugar spikes, mess up your body's natural regulatory system and cause long-term health problems? Wow, who knew? Perhaps the "Toxic" part in the title is just a sensationalistic way to get more readers, but I would expect a little more from a New York Times writer who has "spent most of the last decade doing journalistic research on diet and chronic disease."
I think the word toxic should be stricken from the English language, or at the least it should be temporarily banned until people stop using it in ways that it should not be used. If you look up toxic on mirriam-webster.com it will give you the following definition: "containing or being poisonous material, especially when capable of causing death or serious debilitation". Ok, then how is poisonous defined? Again, according to mirriam webster, it means "destructive, harmful".
That gives us a vague understanding of the word. The problem is that something that is destructive or harmful in moderate or large quantities can be harmless, beneficial, or even necessary in small quantities. Most people would say that snake venom is "toxic", but some people in southeast asia will ingest small quantities of snake venom because they believe it to have medicinal effects. Granted, the venom might still be doing harm, just too little harm to notice immediately, but I was just using it as an illustrative point. Too out-there for you? Ok, how about the evil poison Vitamin A?
Vitamin A is a necessary substance and having too little of it causes temporary or permanant blindness and impairs the immune system. Ingesting too much of it can be just as bad. Symptoms include nausea, loss of muscle control, and birth defects. Feel free to check out the wikipedia page for Hypervitaminosis A. Thanks to that page, I now know that due to dangerous levels of Vitamin A, one should not eat polar bear liver if you are ever stranded in the Arctic.
How about salt? Obviously salt is a necessary nutrient, but most people are aware that excess salt can be dangerous and, it has even been used as a murder weapon. The longer-term health effects of a high-salt intake are debateable, and there are multiple conflicting studies on the topic.
In case I needed another reason to love Wikipedia, when I tried to look up "toxic" on wikipedia it redirected me to "toxicity". One of the early paragraphs says "A central concept of toxicology is that effects are dose-dependent; even water can lead to water intoxication when taken in large enough doses, whereas for even a very toxic substance such as snake venom there is a dose below which there is no detectable toxic effect." I couldn't have said it better myself.
So with that in mind, here is my hierarchy for various levels of toxicity:
Extra-Super Toxic:
Stuff that is going to cause significant damage even is small doses like arsenic, cyanide, and some mushrooms
Really Toxic:
Stuff that will cause serious damage in significant quantities like glycol, many poisonous plants, some prescription drugs
Pretty Toxic:
Stuff that will cause serious damage or death if ingested in large quantities or small quantities for a long period of time like
- narcotics
- many prescription drugs
- household cleaners
- gasoline
Mildly Toxic:
Stuff that can cause serious injury or death in very large quantities or long-term health problems if used in significanat quantities for a long period of time such as
- Alcohol
- Tobacco
- Over-the-counter drugs
- Salt (but maybe not for the long-term effects)
- Soaps (dish soap, anybody?)
Long-Term Slightly-Toxic:
- Sugars
- Trans Fats
- Saturated Fats
Barely Toxic:
- Unsaturated Fats
Hard To Think of As Toxic:
- Complex Carbohydrates
- Proteins
- Fiber
As Non-Toxic As You Can Get:
- Water
The lesson here is moderation. You can eat small quantities of stuff that is bad for you(even snake venom if you want), but keep it to a minimum. Eat mostly complex carbs, proteins, and fiber.
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