Newly released documents from the 1960s show that the sugar industry funded research on sugar and cardiovascular health “and then buried the data when it suggested that sugar could be harmful,” says the New York Times. “The report’s authors say it builds on evidence that the sugar industry has long tried to mislead the public and protect its economic interests by suppressing worrisome research.”
The Sugar Association, a trade group, disputed the report in the journal PLOS Biology and, in a statement to the Times, called it “a collection of speculations and assumptions about events that happened nearly five decades ago, conducted by a group of researchers and funded by individuals and organizations that are known critics of the sugar industry.” The trade group said sugar “consumed in moderation is part of a balanced lifestyle.”
According to the Times, a trade group that was the predecessor of the Sugar Association paid a British scientist to study the biological responses of rats fed sucrose, the main component of cane sugar. In the initial results, the rats produced high levels of an enzyme associated at that time with hardened arteries and bladder cancer. The researcher asked for more funding and time to complete the experiments. He was turned down. The Sugar Association told the Times the study was shut down because it was over budget and taking longer than expected.
To read the PLOS Biology article, click here.