IFT panel discusses inconsistent sugar recommendations and the questions they raise.
Sugar has been a part of the human diet since sugarcane was domesticated in 8000 B.C., but today myths and misunderstandings about sugar and the role it plays in health abound.
In the media, sugar has been linked to obesity, toxicity, addiction, and fatty liver disease, among a host of other health outcomes, but with little, no or poor research to back up such claims, according to a June 24 panel discussion at the 2014 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo in New Orleans.