Sugar Industry Paid Off Harvard Researchers, the Truth About Sugar Health Risks Surfaces
A multi-billion dollar industry, jaw-dropping bribes, and the nation's most prestigious university -- a decades-old scandal that shaped the America's nutrition guidelines (and waistlines) was recently unearthed through the dedication of a a dentist-turned-researcher.
Dr. Cristin Kearns of the University of California, San Francisco published a paper in JAMA Internal Medicine detailing the deceit of Big Sugar and two Harvard nutritionists. Kearns and her colleagues followed a paper trail of historical documents from large checks written by players in the sugar industry to a research review that downplayed the link between sugar and heart disease.
At the time there was a strong debate about whether fats or sugars were to blame for coronary heart disease. Nutrition research was showing that both were factors, until a $48,000 check (in 2016 dollars) was given to Dr. Fredrick Stare and Dr. Robert McGandy (both deceased) by a group called Sugar Research Foundation (SRF) to study the link between sugar and heart disease.
Stare and McGandy published a two-part research paper in New England Journal of Medicine that downplayed the link between sugar and heart disease while overplaying the link between fat and heart disease. Nationwide nutrition guidelines followed suit, resulting in many Americans consuming the recommended low-fat, high-sugar diet that is now viewed as a big factor in the obesity epidemic. Sugar profits boomed.
Written communication between the Harvard researchers and SRF shows how closely involved the sugary industry was in shaping the research and published findings. Members of the SRF reviewed drafts prior to publication and the researchers acknowledged being aware of SRF's interests and needing to rework parts of the paper.
Scientific publications now require researchers to list potential conflicts of interest. Despite the necessity of listing conflicts, the food industry is still funding studies that often prove favorable for them.
When you strip away the big business marketing that surrounds food, health guidelines are simple. Eat a balanced diet of predominantly natural foods, coupled with moderate exercise.
