Eating a lot of sugar makes the gut more leaky in fruit flies and human gut cells in a lab setting, which can be seen when blue dye leaks out of the gut in flies or when a special dye passes through gut cells more easily.
Scientific Claim
High sugar consumption is associated with increased intestinal permeability in both Drosophila melanogaster and human intestinal cell co-cultures, as measured by blue dye leakage in flies and Lucifer Yellow permeability in cell models.
Source Excerpt
“Of the additives tested, intestinal permeability was increased most dramatically by high sugar. High sugar also increased feeding but reduced gut and overall animal size.”
Evidence from Studies
Supporting Studies
Effect of dietary additives on intestinal permeability in both Drosophila and a human cell co-culture
The study measured intestinal permeability using Smurf assay in flies and Lucifer Yellow permeability in human cell co-cultures. High sugar consistently showed the greatest increase in permeability compared to other additives tested.