A Sugar Question: Can Candy Lead to Untimely Death?

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Anything done in excess can kill anyone, and this doesn't leave out food because food itself when eaten in excess can lead to death. I was discussing with someone about a health case that we saw at an eatery where gelato and candy's were sold. A man who was eating lots of Mini Milky Ways candy held his chest and was gasping for breath. He was trying to remain conscious but I guess his body failed him. While he was being rushed to the nearest hospital by employees of the eatery and good samaritans, someone kept saying he had been taking different candies for a while at that spot. He ordered the candies continuously and was taking them non-stop. Then someone asked if sweets and candy can be dangerous, and can lead to someone having an attack and dying?


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Actually, cases like this have happened in so many parts of the world. An example is a 54-year-old man from Massachusetts who was eating Black licorice at a restaurant and had pain in his chest and collapsed. He was rushed to the hospital where he had an irregular heartbeat after suffering a heart attack and this was because of his low potassium level. Black licorice product contains glycyrrhizic acid, and although it is used as a sweetner, it changes potassium level leading to the destruction of electrolytes in his body and increasing the amount of cortisol in the body leading to digestion issue, irregular heart beating, hypertion, and renal failure. He had been consuming the soft candy which contained up to 3.1% of glycyrrhizic acid causing medical issue for people who older people who consumed it in excess.

The illustration above was to proof that it was possible for someone taking candy to find themselves in the hospital if the component of the candy has ingredients that would prevent their body from producing certain nutrients, or cause the body the perform differently when taken excessively. Taking candy in excess is wrong, and people do not know but the lethal amount of sugar in the body is 13.5 grams per pound of body weight and this would give the LD50 where the person has a 50/50 chance of living. So a person would have consumed about about 2400 grams of sugar in a 180lb. I doubt the man suffered from too much candy because he would need about 230 of those candy to reach a lethal dose, but it is possible that he has been having other forms of sugar.


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The cascade of sugar intake introduces a paradoxical dance between euphoria and distress. The consumption of sugar triggers a dopamine surge, inducing transient elation and heightened energy. Simultaneously, the pancreas releases insulin to channel this energy conversion process. However, this delicate balance can be upended, particularly in instances of sugar surplus, as insulin surges outstrip available glucose, culminating in a "sugar crash." This tumultuous descent yields an array of unpleasant symptoms—headaches, irritability, fatigue, impaired concentration, anxiety, trembling, dizziness, bloating, and ravenous hunger. Swift alleviation necessitates exercise, hydration, and consumption of whole foods. Yet, the implications are compounded for individuals grappling with diabetes, where insulin production falters, propelling blood sugar levels to dangerous heights before plummeting agonizingly low, eliciting a host of medical complications.

Sugar has been said to cause later effects like heart attack, heart diseases, type 2 diabetes, brain fog, Weight gain, tooth decay, tooth problems and so on. If we are looking at the event that occured at the candy store/eatery I went to, I cannot say for sure that he had too much sugar to consume, or had another underlying condition that could have led to his health problem but we now know that sugar can be lethal and can cause other health issues. Also the case of the 54-year-old man showed that he had issues of sugar intake but it was more of the glycerrhizic acid causing the problem as it affected his heart and kidney.

The complex connection between sugar, health, and mortality is multifaceted, necessitating vigilance and moderation in our intake. The culinary pleasures we savor, once indulged to excess, can seamlessly transform into vessels of harm in our body. With sugar, we should appreciate its allure while heeding to its potential health pitfalls.

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Is excessive sugar is harmful and candy contain excessive sugar, then candy is dangerous to the health

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Sugar's dopamine is what causes some people to be addicted to sweetness, then also we should remember that this is how our cells now becomes over sensitized and people develop type 2 diabetes, i guess we can say too much of everything is bad applies here too

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