How sugar affects the immune system

There are several key players in healthy immune system function; they can be generally grouped into cells that kill, cells that produce antibodies, regulatory cells and the chemicals or cytokines with which these cells communicate with one another to coordinate an immune response. For appropriate immune function it is critical that these players are awake and alert to do their job, and calm and balanced enough to only do their job of protecting us. If they are too lackadaisical, then bacterial, viral or fungal infection or cancer may be allowed to take hold and multiply. If they are too hyper-vigilant and begin to mistake “self” for “other”, autoimmune conditions can result as the body launches an immune attack against its own cells and tissues. We can directly influence how the immune system works by what we choose to eat, by providing nutrients to support healthy immune function and by avoiding those foods and non-foods that interfere with the proper functioning of immune cells.
Regarding blood sugar levels and immune function I did a quick search on PubMed (and encourage you to do the same), and found these articles demonstrating hyperglycemia or high blood sugar can be a factor in reducing or altering immune function. Researchers found that excess sugar in the blood can over-stimulate the Tcells, which then go on inflammatory rampage1,2 and attack your tissues instead of the cancer or bacteria or viruses that we would want them to fight. Too much sugar can dampen the immune response3, which would allow infections to establish and take hold.
The metaphor I understand is that when the white cells get exposed to too much sugar they act like hyperactive kids for a while, attacking indiscriminately. After the sugar “high” they “crash out” (and probably get crabby) so they are significantly less effective in doing what they are supposed to do, much like those kids, right?
Secondly, cancer cells, bacterial cells, fungus all love sugar (probably viruses too but I'm not certain so I won't include them here). It makes sense that maintaining a higher blood sugar level, even rarely, periodically, or occasionally, would interfere with immune function by feeding that which we are trying to fight, and reducing our ability to fight it. It follows that by consuming more sugar than usual, if you'd been exposed to an infection could increase the risks of that infection gaining hold instead of being managed by your immune system without manifesting as symptoms of a cold, flu etc. Eating excess sugar as a part of your daily diet can not only increase the risk of infection, over time it can affect you bodies ability to regulate the blood sugar level in a healthy range. This is part of the concern with progressing diabetes, metabolic syndrome and even adrenal fatigue. When the signals to increase or decrease blood sugar levels are haphazard, and when the organs and tissues that manage these levels start to get burnt out, many critical health issues can develop. There were other articles talking about the importance of glycemic regulation in transplant success, risk in PCOS between dysglycemia and increased inflammation, diabetes and increased cardiovascular risk etc.
Food quality and balance of nutrients is critical to weight management, mood balance and healthy growth and repair, it affects our ability to protect and defend ourselves. So you see, excess sugar in the diet, while it might be tasty, is a health hazard in many, many ways.

1 Natural killer T cells are involved in adipose tissues inflammation and glucose intolerance in diet-induced obese mice.
Ohmura K, Ishimori N, Ohmura Y, Tokuhara S, Nozawa A, Horii S, Andoh Y, Fujii S, Iwabuchi K, Onoé K, Tsutsui H. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2010 Feb;30(2):193-9. Epub 2009 Nov 12.PMID: 19910631

2  Inflammation markers and metabolic characteristics of subjects with 1-h plasma glucose levels.
Bardini G, Dicembrini I, Cresci B, Rotella CM.Diabetes Care. 2010 Feb;33(2):411-3. Epub 2009 Nov 16.PMID:19918010

3  [The assessment of T regulatory cells in the peripheral blood of children with metabolic syndrome]Łuczyński W, Stasiak-Barmuta A, Głowińska-Olszewska B, Szczepański W, Urban M, Buczyńska K, Rembińska M, Tercjak M, Rećko P.Pol Merkur Lekarski. 2009 Dec;27(162):453-7. Polish. PMID: 20120705

Saturated Fat Benefits Health

Check out this CNN link www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/24/moh.heartmag.saturated.fat/index.html about saturated fats, they may not be bad for you after all! I think that means they may be good for you, in moderation like everything else. In fact, I'd encourage you to include them in your diet!

I agree with the usual recommendation to limit carbohydrates as well as conscientious fat eating. You also need to be very aware of the type of fat, whether saturated, mono or polyunsaturated . Sure bacon in small amounts could even be good for you, but what was the pig fed? What was added to it after butchering? Grain fed and nitrites are a recipe for heart disease and cancer. Go to the good quality meat counter, meet the folks there and as where your food came from. If you choose to eat meat, enjoy it. (shameless plug for www.baconshirts.com) You have access to good quality saturated fats as a non-meat eater as well. Vegan options include, but are not limited to avocado and coconut oil, for the vegetarian meal organic butter-raw if you can find it (and share it!) These are real nourishing foods, and what if I told you that the body uses saturated fat to make hormones? and rebuild cell walls? and protect the brain? You'd be rushing out there to get good new raw materials to build a good new you! And if you knew that hydrogenated fats were "fake" saturated fats? Get it? Want to know more? Get some friends together and call to schedule a talk on any health related topic.

How to market Healing?

Having recently moved back home to California, I am now faced with having to market again what I do as a Naturopathic Doctor to build up my practice anew. Here I get to try to explain in words and catch phrases why someone might want to start the hard and difficult path that the healing journey can be. Sometimes I joke, "I will probably start by telling you to avoid your favorite foods" which isn't really a good sell, but I want people to know that this is hard work and involves making new choices and an enormous loving, willful committment to yourself. As people say to me "I can't believe you can just turn down that (fully refined sugar, bleached white flour, artificial flavored) dessert!" and I then try to explain that once you know how it may affect your mood, your bowels, your outlook on life, the choice actually becomes very easy.
I am reluctant to list the diseases that I treat, because I treat people! Maybe they are experiencing this or that "dis-ease", and this is just their body trying to get their attention. Our bodies speak to us in many different ways, unique to each person through their physiology and genetics, influenced by geographical location, time of day or time of year, emotional stressors, their belief systems and a myriad of other interesting variables. Our mental, emotional, spiritual, and metaphysical bodies absolutely must engage and work within this physical body that anchors us to the earth. Helping an aging friend who was in regular discomfort, she said "Can't we just put this body out with the recycling? and pick up a new one for me tomorrow?" I smiled, but had to say in all seriousness, it's just not that simple.
A foundational part of my job as a doctor is being a patient and loving teacher, almost a translator, helping folks to understand, to listen to and honor the language of their bodies. This is VERY different from simply suppressing the symptoms,as "modern medicine" is so good at. While it is fine to take an aspirin for a headache, or even better, if my heart stops? please have the Emergency Room doctor start it again! I have so much more to share and so much work to do! Is the blood pressure too high? let's just lower that RIGHT NOW before we explode! Then we need to unlock and address the cause of the issue, to prevent further disease and damage to our bodies.
Yet this deeper healing that we are yearning for requires a whole shift in our understanding of what medicine is. We talk about Health Care Reform and what we actually need to reconfigure is our understanding of what caring for our health really is about. Whose responsibility really is it to make sure that we make good health choices? and choose to understand the possible impact of the choices we make? I often tell my patients it is my job as your doctor to be your encyclopedia and cheerleader, it is your job to do the work of making those difficult life changes. I will do my best to research any questions if I am not immediately able to answer them for you. I will be patient and careful while I explain as best I can what I hear your body trying to tell you. I have experience treating many different "dis-eases", and there is always more to learn about. The beauty of this medicine is any moment a patient can walk in with a new presentation or a unique set of symptoms, and we get to sleuth out together their path to health. It is an opportunity for uniquely designing a treatment plan for their wonderful, beautiful, unique self.
So I suppose I will list diseases on the webpages, and I will try to capture the attention of those sufferring from "dis-ease", so that we can invite them to embark on a deeper healing journey. Truly, I really want you to know as a Naturopathic Doctor I treat people, who are so much more than their disease.