Sugar consumption should be controlled , as is the case with alcohol and tobacco, to protect public health. This is recommended today in the journal Nature by scientists from the University of California in San Francisco (USA). Neuroendrocrinologist Robert Lustig and his colleagues say that added sugars are behind the global epidemic of obesity and associated diseases (the metabolic syndrome) . Moreover, according to Lustig, the high consumption of added sugars (especially fructose), present mainly in precooked foods and in soft drinks and sweets, not only implies the consumption of "empty calories? That make us fat, but also modifies metabolism, increases blood pressure, alters hormonal signals and directly damages the liver – a worrying situation if we consider that the global consumption of sugar has tripled in the last 50 years.
"Sugar is toxic beyond the calories it contains, " says Lustig, considered the "number 1 enemy" of sugar. The researcher claims that, due to the threat it poses to health and the addiction it generates, it receives the same treatment from governments as alcohol.
