About twenty-five years ago, I read an article in a German medical journal that made a lasting impression. The article was about an unusual study that demonstrated the immediate effects of sugar and simple carbohydrates on the immune system.

The researchers found a healthy female volunteer who agreed to participate in the study and have her blood tested after each meal she ate. The researchers admitted her to the local teaching hospital where all her food intake could be carefully tracked and documented. Under those conditions, there was no way to cheat and eat some food that was not part of the experiment.

The meals served to the volunteer consisted of different types of food, ranging from vegan to carnivore, from Mediterranean to Asian. After each meal, the researchers drew the volunteer’s blood and put it in a petri dish loaded with virulent bacteria, like strep and staph. The petri dish was placed under the electron microscope back at the lab. The bacteria and blood components were magnified by more than a million times what the naked eye could see. The description of the cellular activity sounded like the Battle of Armageddon.

The researchers could clearly see the activity of the macrophages, the branch of the white blood cells that that engulf and digest foreign matter, including viruses, bacteria, and cancer cells.

In order to determine the effectiveness of the macrophages at killing the bacteria, the researchers measured four parameters:

• How long it took the macrophages to respond to the presence of foreign bacteria by lining up like soldiers.
• How long to reach their target
• How long to engulf the bacteria
• And how long to digest the bacteria.

Out of all the test results that were obtained, there was only one set of results that I clearly remember because they were quite abnormal. That particularly memorable test was performed with blood from the volunteer after a meal high in sugar and simple carbohydrates, including pasta, tomato sauce, bread, simple green salad, wine and dessert.

The white blood cells drifted around aimlessly, like drunk men oblivious to danger. Their behavior was significantly different from what was seen under the electron microscope with blood taken after the volunteer had eaten more wholesome meals.

When the white blood cells finally responded to the presence of bacteria, they slowly lined themselves up. Again, as if they were drunk, they frequently overshot their target. The time it took the white blood cells to obliterate the bacteria was significantly prolonged after the meal with mostly simple carbohydrates.

The experiment was taken one step further. The researchers wanted to find out how long it would take until the white blood cells returned to more normal activity after the meal high in simple carbohydrates. Every half hour they drew the patient’s blood to look at it under the electron microscope.

It took four hours for the white blood cells to return to their more vigorous and purposeful movements.

So, if you’re a mom with a sick child, think twice before offering sugary foods, like orange juice, ginger ale, and ice cream—foods that will actually impede the healing of your child, as shown with the German study. Your love and concern for your child will certainly have a healing effect—without the sugar.

Here’s to your good health.

My son Barrett and I are taking a rest on the grounds of the Taos Pueblo, sometime in 1991. This picture has nothing to do with sugar—except that Barrett and I always packed nutritious snacks to avoid temptation.