Sugar, Immunity, and the Sweetener Trap If you’ve been around Beyond Health for any length of time, you know that strong immunity begins with staying away from sugar. That’s not ideology—it’s biochemistry. Sugar undermines immune function in two distinct and well-documented ways. How Sugar Weakens Immunity 1. Sugar Blocks Vitamin C Entry Into Immune Cells Glucose (blood sugar) and vitamin C use the same transport pathways to enter cells. Immune cells cannot function without vitamin C—and during an infection, their requirement for vitamin C can increase ten-fold or more. But if glucose levels are elevated, vitamin C is crowded out at the cellular level. The result?An artificial, functional vitamin C deficiency, even if you’re taking supplements. This is one of the primary reasons sugar intake is so damaging during periods of immune stress. 2. Sugar Disrupts Blood Sugar and Oxygen Delivery Large swings in blood sugar—sharp spikes followed by cr…

For years, Beyond Health has recommended limiting fruit consumption to two pieces of fruit per day and avoiding fruit juice altogether. Although fresh fruit is a good source of nutrients, it’s also high in sugar, and sugar, even from healthy sources, can be detrimental if you get too much of it. Although a diet high in fruits and vegetables is often recommended for lowering blood pressure, studies have found that high fruit consumption is not associated with lowered blood pressure and can even cause elevations in blood pressure. How would eating fruit lead to higher blood pressure? It’s the sugar in the fruit that’s the problem. Fruit contains two kinds of sugar—50% glucose and 50% fructose. And they each impact blood pressure. High fructose corn syrup is also composed primarily of glucose and fructose—42% glucose and 55% fructose. Under normal, healthy circumstances, if you eat a piece of fruit, the glucose will cause sugar levels in your blood to rise so…