Impact of Sugar Consumption on Immune Function and Disease

Running head: NUTRITION ASSESSMENT
Nutrition assessment
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Introduction:
The immune system- both innate and adaptive plays a major role in preventing infection
and promoting recovery of ailing person from any type of injury. Apart from lipids, glucose is
also regarded as the main resource to fulfill the energy requirement of the immune system thus
indicating that glucose or sugar may have a role in immune alteration associated with obesity or
diabetes (Wolowczuk et al., 2008). Currently, obesity and diabetes are some of the growing
public health concerns. There is common belief that consuming one table spoon sugar
compromises immune function. Sugar consumption is regarded as the cause of many serious
health issues such as type 2 diabetes, obesity and immune function related problem. However,
the reliability of the statement is dependent on review of current statistics and reviewing the
impact of sugar consumption on risk of obesity or other diseases. Hence, in response to research
question ‘Does sugar consumption negatively affects immunity?’ this report provides
background information related to the impact of sugar consumption (exposure) on immune
function and disease (outcome) and the relevance of the research question. It also critiques
current evidence related to the research question in terms of methodology and provides short
discussion on the identified literature.
Overview and Implications/outcomes of the nutrition related question
The relevance of the research question is seen because of compromised immune system
and vulnerability to diseases in people taking high amount of sugar. Added sugars in diet of
people are a controversial topic due to its implications in increased risk of chronic diseases like
obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In the study of nutrition particularly the study of
role of foods in chronic disease, nutrition has been linked to various disease processes. For

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example, salt consumption has been linked to hypertension and dietary cholesterol is linked to
heart disease. Similarly, nutritive sweeteners or uptake of sugar in diet is linked to reduced
immune function and risk of many diseases (Rippe & Angelopoulos, 2016).
Although the research questions compares the exposure (sugar consumption) with
compromised immune system (outcome), however it has been linked to obesity too because of
interrelationship between immune dysfunction, and type 2 diabetes. Energy imbalance or obesity
is one of the major risk factor of diabetes and the energy imbalance in the adipose tissue results
in immune activation and alterations in gut microbiota to cause type 2 diabetes related
complication. Immune cells like macrophage interact with adipocytes after diet driven energy
imbalance. Such interaction results in infiltration of macrophages. The toll receptors present on
the macrophages activate the inflammasome and increases release of cytokine. This eventually
cause a massive inflammatory attack against the pancreas and in the tissues associated with
diabetes (Odegaard & Chawla, 2015). van Beek et al. (2014) also argues that adipose tissue
macrophase infiltration along with high concentration of Il-6 and CD4+ T cells increases risk of
diabetes in obese patients. The microbial production of inflammatory mediators also has an
impact on metabolic pathway of a person through pathways that influence immune function and
gut permeability (Joyce & Gahan, 2014).
The effects of sugar on neutrophilic activity had been studied by Tagzirt et al., (2014).
The researchers concluded that ingestion of sugar led to the significant decrease in the
phagocytic index. It is to be noted that phagocytic index is the measurement of neutrophilic
response. Thus, sugar consumption decreased the responsiveness of neutrophils.an imbalance
between the enzyme neutrophil elastase and its inhibitor is a chief contributing factor in the
development of obesity, inflammation and other health concerns.

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From this explanation, the link between immune dysfunction and pathophysiology of
obesity is understood. Hence, finding link between sugar consumption and immune function is
necessary to prevent obesity and prevent the metabolic pathway contributing to obesity.
White blood cells (WBCs) release toxins in response to invading harmful
microorganisms (Goldsmith, 2014). These are bacteria and viruses. Vitamin C is one of the
nutrients that is very important to enable the white blood cells function effectively. A white
blood cell needs to contain fifty times the concentration of vitamin C as it would normally be
found in the blood around it. Vitamin C is known to be a cure for common cold (Slavin, 2013).
Glucose and vitamin C have a chemical structure that is similar. This becomes a challenge since
glucose can get substituted by mistake when a white blood cell tries to accumulate vitamin C
from the surrounding blood. When the concentration of glucose in the blood surges to a certain
concentration the concentration of vitamin C in the white blood cell can start to drop because of
the huge amount of glucose that is substituted for vitamin C. At a blood sugar level of a hundred
and twenty, the ability of the white blood cell to destroy bacteria and viruses is reduced by 75%.
This blood sugar level is easily obtained through consumption of sugary foods such as cakes,
candy, energy drinks, cookies among others.
Apart from environmental factors like diet and increase in adipose tissue, the endogenous
intestinal microflora also plays central role in immune heomostasis and reactivity. The human
microflora and diet both has an impact of body weight and insulin resistance capacity of an
individual. Hence, obesity leads to alterations in immune function and initiation of the
inflammation process. The role of glucose on the immune system can clarify regarding the
impact of sugar consumptions on immune function. Glucose plays a role in lymphocyte
activation and proper functioning of the immune system is important to prevent infection.