COVID-19, an Incentive to Tackle Sugar in Hospitals and at Home
Vazirani, AA (2021) J Endocr Soc Mar 6;5(6):bvab037. doi: 10.1210/jendso/bvab037.
Web URL: View this and related research articles via PubMed here
Abstract:
Obesity and metabolic disease are thwarting our efforts to recover from COVID-19. Chronic inflammation is a key feature of both COVID-19 and the metabolic syndrome.Sugar consumption in particular has been shown to affect COVID-19 mortality by contributing to the chronic inflammatory state. Restriction of free sugar intake has a measurable effect on disease-predicting physiological parameters in as little as 9 days.
The rapid reduction in inflammation following fructose restriction is key in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, as COVID-19 exacerbates the same inflammatory pathways as those driven by the metabolic syndrome.
Healthcare providers have a duty to implement international recommendations of reduced free sugar intake. By doing so, they could reduce the chronic inflammatory burden contributing to COVID-19 patients' demise.
Further, it would set a precedent for reducing the risk of severe disease in the uninfected, by maximizing their potential metabolic health in the context of an infection predicated on its disruption.
FAB RESEARCH COMMENT:
The full text of this brief article is freely available online, and it is well worth reading.Written by a medical doctor, it spells out clearly and accessibly the facts and figures concerning
- obesity, diabetes and related metabolic conditions - and how these conditions significantly increase the risks of serious illness or death from COVID-19
- the role of sugar - and particularly fructose - both in contributing to these conditions, and in excacerbating the excessive inflammation that characterises severe forms of COVID-19
- the recommendations by the W.H.O. to limit dietary intakes of free sugars - and the current lack of any meaningful actions to achieve this by public health authorities in the UK and most other countries, even (or particularly) in hospitals
As the author concludes:
"Sugar reduction is a simple modification which leads to measurable health benefits in days. It is an important preventative measure for metabolic disease, which could lead to fewer serious cases of COVID-19 either by alleviating the inflammatory burden, or preventing it from developing. Adopting change now will prove healthcare providers’ commitment to our health, and set a precedent for how we should act at home. Waiting yet longer will be detrimental to our health and recovery from COVID-19.
This is both a societal and a medical issue. Hospitals should be paragons of healthy food, not abodes of sugar-bingeing. They must act now to rectify the obesogenic environment they perpetuate."
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