Does sugar cause acidity in the body?
Does sugar cause acidity in the body? Whether pure table sugar is added to hot drinks or processed food enriched with hidden added sugar, plates and cupboards around the world have sugar in abundance. With such ubiquitous consumption, attention has turned to the damaging health effects of sugar on our population, with Sugar Awareness Week and World Diabetes Day being two recent examples.
However, whilst the more well-known effects of high blood sugar on diabetes are widely understood, there is another effect that is less well-emphasised. Sugar, a naturally acidic substance, may actually be causing excess acidity in the body- and leaving behind a sour taste (quite literally!)
High sugar intake
Excessive sugar intake has a wide range of negative effects on the body: from tooth decay to weight gain, to chronic inflammatory conditions and metabolic syndrome [1]. Sustained, high blood glucose is associated with a range of health impacts and, more recently, we have seen the impact on immunity with the COVID-19 pandemic.
These are well-characterised, widely-known effects of high sugar diets and high blood glucose. However, an often overlooked impact is that on the body’s acid-alkali equilibrium.
Sugar has an overall acidic impact on the body, due to its effects on fat metabolism and bacterial activity. As a result, it can disturb the delicate pH balance that is usually tightly regulated. This regulation is important because it affects the processes that occur in our cells and organs.
Therefore, disturbing this balance can have a negative impact on physiological processes, and therefore your patient’s metabolic health. As a result, they may experience non-specific symptoms that can be difficult to isolate and treat, as well as worsening of their chronic diseases and symptoms of acidosis.
Sugar and Acidity
Does sugar cause acidity in the body? When considering acidity in the body, one obvious area is stomach acid. Acidification of the body can amplify this natural acid reservoir, leading to issues with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. Your patients may have experience with acid reflux symptoms, which can be unpleasant as well as functionally impairing.
The characteristic burning sensation can have significant impacts on the relationship with food, as well as causing more serious long-term consequences such as oesophageal cancer. With an underlying issue of acidity, the use of alkaline foods may help, as well as identification of key trigger foods that irritate the oesophagus and promote acidity.
The difficulty lies in the complex interplay between food and health. Removing excess sugar is not as easy as steering clear of the sweets; there are many places where hidden added sugar can be found, such as in sauces and ready meals. In addition, the nutritional quality of these foods is often lower, whilst the caloric density is higher, meaning an overweight, yet malnutrition population.
When you take obesity, a lack of vitamins and minerals and then increased acidity, you have a recipe for chronic inflammation and a very ill population.
Certain “healthy foods” can claim to have healthier sugar alternatives, such as different fruit-based syrups and pure honey, but ultimately these also have damaging acidic effects on the body.
In addition, consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables is often replaced with convenience food, such as smoothies and juices, which have a significant impact on blood sugar.
Promoting acid-alkali balance
With sugar consumption at an all-time high, many people will be suffering the health consequences of high blood sugar and high acidity. Our Check Medical device can identify whether the metabolic acid-alkali imbalance is negatively affecting your patients. Using bioelectrical impedance analysis, the device can provide detailed information on your patient’s acid levels, as well as many additional parameters of full-body health, in just minutes.
Identifying increased acidity can be vital for your patient’s wellbeing; taking steps to restore the acid-alkali balance (such as through alkaline foods) can improve symptoms of acidosis, such as acid reflux, and calm the metabolic disturbances that may be plaguing your patient’s health. Ultimately, it will provide a quantitative measure of the effect their food is having on health. By arming your patients with this information, you can empower them to make healthier choices at every meal.
Check Medical Sport and Test Expert Plus
Check Medical Sport and Test Expert Plus are powerful diagnostic tools that can help check the status of the acid-alkali balance and understand if the body tends to acidity.
Check Medical Sport is a diagnostic device based on bio-impedance analysis (BIA). Generating results in 8 minutes, it stimulates the whole body with electric impulses by applying electrodes and dividing it into 7 segments.
The program is completely automatic. Graphic reports show the body’s ability to regulate organ functionality and reveal the presence of possible toxins or exogenous disorders. The machine considers the connections between muscles and organs, giving unique insights into the state of muscles and their structure as well as their optimal capacity.
The Check Medical Sport offers personalized recommendations on ideal training routine and nutrition, information on stress situations and energy reserves, and evaluation of the acid-alkali balance. It determines body mass index and ideal heart rate. The Check Medical Sport is very important for the prevention of injuries and health issues.
Test Expert Plus is based on bio-impedance analysis (BIA) as well and it’s a very accurate screening method to unravel the real cause of symptoms. Elaborate tests and lab analysis become useless, as the diagnosis is immediate and can be done in your clinic, without stressing the patient and without side effects.
This machine is used to check the organs status, to identify allergies, intolerances, deficiencies and imbalances, to uncover incompatibility to materials and the presence of toxins and parasites. Pathogens, causal chains, and root causes of illness can be found in a 30-minute session. Targeted and personalised treatments can be prescribed faster.
[1] Freeman CR, Zehra A, Ramirez V, Wiers CE, Volkow ND, Wang GJ. Impact of sugar on the body, brain, and behaviour. Front Biosci (Landmark Ed). 2018 Jun 1;23:2255-2266. doi: 10.2741/4704. PMID: 29772560.
Author of ‘A sour taste: Does sugar cause acidity in the body?’: Hardeep Lotay (Final Year Medical Student at Cambridge University, blogger, writer)