The Hidden Dangers of Early Sugar Exposure

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Catherine Offord. Science 10/31/24: Britain’s postwar sugar craze confirms harms of sweet diets in early life. Reference article: T Gracner et al. Science 2024; 0,eadn5421. DOI:10.1126/science.adn5421 Exposure to sugar rationing in the first 1000 days of life protected against chronic disease

An excerpt:

In 1953, the United Kingdom got its sweet tooth back, ending the rationing of candies and sugar that had begun during World War II. Hordes of people descended on candy stores and started to sweeten more of their foods at home. Within the year, the nation’s sugar consumption doubled…. 

Combining food surveys and sugar sales from the 1950s with medical records of adults from the UK Biobank database, the team found that people conceived or born after 1953 had higher risks of type 2 diabetes and hypertension decades later than those born during rationing…

Public health authorities recommend no added sugar for infants during the first 1000 days from conception, a critical window for development. But … more than 80% of babies and toddlers have foods with added sugar on any given day…

Infants who reached age 1.5 before rationing ended fared even better, with a 40% lower risk of diabetes and a 20% lower risk of hypertension compared with the never-rationed group.

My take: Mae West was wrong. Too much of a good thing is not wonderful (if the good thing is sugar).

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