A spoonful can help to make the medicine go down, but according to a new feature in the latest edition of Spa Business magazine, growing research suggests that sugar may in fact be the key culprit behind the current global epidemic of obesity and chronic disease.

In the UK, sugar was labelled "the new tobacco" in February, as supermarkets were urged to cut sugar levels in their food.

Research suggests that fructose (a sugar molecule found in sweeteners) can trigger processes that lead to liver toxicity and a host of other chronic diseases. “A little is not a problem, but a lot kills - slowly” reads an article in Nature.

The problem lies with fructose coming from refined sugars, which digest much quicker than natural fructose. For a full report on the dangers of sugar the Q1 edition of Spa Business is available here.