Following an analysis of recently uncovered documents, the sugar industry paid researchers to cast doubt on the dangers of their products.
The critical analysis was published earlier this week in Jama Internal Medicine and shows
that as early as the 1960s, the sugar industry managed to shift the blame for
heart disease to saturated fat, claiming that sugar was a necessary part of the
human diet. The analysis consists of correspondence between researchers at
Harvard University and people from a sugar trade group. This analysis is just
the latest example of the methods beverage and food makers use to shape and mislead our
understanding of nutrition.
Sugar Association started its campaign in 1964
It was back in 1964 that the Sugar Association started its
campaign to basically get rid of any negative attitudes towards sugar. This
followed several studies – found in the public archives – that had linked sugar
with heart disease. In the following year, the Sugar Association approved what
was dubbed “Project 226,” a project that was set up to pay Harvard researchers
what would be the equivalent today of $48,900, to publish an article reviewing
the scientific literature about sugar, by giving the researchers the material
they wanted reviewed.
In 1967, “Project 226” published an article which concluded
there was “no doubt” in researchers’ minds that the only dietary intervention
needed to prevent heart disease was to reduce saturated fat and cholesterol
from the diet. Along the way, the article downplayed any studies on sugar.
Reportedly an employee from the sugar industry had written to one of the
article’s authors that what they had written was exactly what they had in mind
and they looked forward to seeing it published. However, at the time the
article was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, there was no
reference to the role and funding of the research by the sugar industry.
However, Monday this week saw an editorial published where Marion
Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University, noted that for several
decades after that study, both health officials and scientists focused their
attention on reducing consumption saturated fat, and not sugar, in an effort to
prevent heart disease.
According to Nestle, scientists continue working in an
effort to understand the links between diet and heart disease, but that concern
has recently shirted to sugars and away from fat. In fact, a committee that
advises the federal government on dietary guidelines has said that the current evidence
available shows that there is no appreciable relationship between heart disease
in humans and dietary cholesterol, while still, however, recommending limiting
the consumption of saturated fats.
Sugar is guilty as charged
On the other hand, the American Heart Association has since cited
research published in 2014 that states too much sugar does increase the risk of
heart disease. The authors of the study did, however, say the biological
reasons are not yet fully understood.
Photo by AnnaM/
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