Sugar & Health Risks for Lupus Warriors: Not So Sweet

What are the health risks of sugar? When you think about health risks and sugar, you probably think about obesity, diabetes, and cavities. Sugar rushes and crashes might also be on your mind. Unstable energy levels do not go well with lupus fatigue and pain. You would be right on all of those counts. Sugar consumption is linked to oral health and metabolic health. But those aren’t the only concerns. It is can also be linked to problems with memory and cognition, heart disease, and liver damage. Some of these effects may be due to an increased level of inflammation, the immune response that causes the symptoms of all forms of lupus. Heart Disease In studies in human males given additional sugar in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages, their blood tests showed increased cardiovascular risk markers such as LDL cholesterol and High-sensitivity c-reactive protein (or hs-CRP). Hs-CRP is a protein associated with inflammation that has been linked to heart disease. It is made in the liver in response to inflammation and high levels are a risk factor for both cardiovascular disease and lupus flares. Tooth Decay Sugar feeds microbes living in the mouth and can lead to tooth decay and gum disease. People with lupus are susceptible to tooth decay and other oral health issues, more so if you are also battling Sjogren’s syndrome. Tooth decay and oral health can affect the entire body, causing inflammation and even serious infections. You can read more about tooth decay and lupus here. Obesity The link between sugar and obesity is well-documented. When the body has excessive sugar, it stores it away as fat. Sugar also dampens the hunger signal, which makes you feel more satisfied after eating sugar. (This is why dessert is often served at the end of a meal, by the way). However, sugar also reduces the signaling and production of dopamine, a chemical involved in mood, pleasure, and feelings of fullness. This means that more food needs to be eaten to trigger those receptors and feel full, resulting in overeating. Sugar, alongside salt, can also encourage weight gain through fluid retention. Certain steroid medications already cause fluid retention and swelling, and sugar can exacerbate this swelling, which can be uncomfortable. Weight gain and obesity are linked to several other medical conditions, including high cholesterol, hypertension, heart disease, and type-2 Diabetes. Being overweight is linked to inflammation, so it can contribute to lupus symptoms. Managing weight is difficult, especially with many lupus medications, but cutting out sugar can help. Diabetes Sugar does not cause diabetes, but it does increase the risks, especially when weight gain is involved. Consuming processed sugar also leads to high blood glucose levels followed by low blood glucose levels as the body secretes insulin. These fluctuations in energy – the typical sugar “rush” and “crash” can exacerbate diabetes and lupus symptoms such as fatigue and pain. Cognitive Problems Sugar consumption may have effects on the brain. Rats consuming saturated fatty acids and sugar did not perform well on tests that required them to use their memory and recognize specific places. In humans, sugar is known to be linked to depression and low moods. These effects could contribute to poor mood and the brain fog symptoms of lupus. Inflammation In studies on rats, high sugar and high fat diets were associated with weight gain and memory problems. Rats that were given sugar-supplemented chow also showed molecules associated with inflammation in their blood and patterns of gene expression associated with inflammation. The researchers generally feel that these are connected – sugar may be causing inflammation, which leads to the other symptoms. This idea is further supported by studies in monkeys and humans. When given additional sugar, both primates had proteins in their blood that are associated with inflammation. A 2018 review noted several studies that linked sugar to fatty liver disease and implied that this occurred because sugar intake triggered inflammation. Liver damage is known to contribute to inflammation, creating a feedback loop that could make symptoms worse. While there are few studies looking at lupus and sugar specifically, increased inflammation could lead to increased symptoms and could potentially cause flares.

Still puzzling over something?