Sugar - It'll make you sick!

I always talk to my clients and members in the gym about ensuring that they maintain a healthy, balanced diet to support their hard work in the gym and to ensure optimal health.  Naturally I can't avoid the topic of sugar.  Many of you know I've been on a sugar-free (amongst other things) detox for the last 5 weeks.  Whilst still working out as hard as usual, 2 kgs just fell off.  Given how important weight loss is to so many of you, failure to understand how detrimental sugar is to this process as well as your overall health will result in frustration and disappointment.  What you are about to read is an extract from Paul Check's "How to Eat, Move and be Healthy".  Prepare yourself though, you may not be able to look at sugar the same way ever again.

How much Sugar Are We Consuming?

As recently as 400 years ago, refined or simple sugars, with the exception of small amounts of honey, were not available to man.  We ate only naturally occurring, whole foods that provide complex carbohydrates, which convert to energy relatively slowly when consumed as natural food sources (this is because they get tied up with simultaneously occurring fats, proteins and fibre).  Producing simple or refined sugars such as packaged white or brown sugar from sugar cane or sugar beets required so much work to manufacture that only the rich could afford to buy them,  About100 years ago, the average yearly intake of simple sugars was only about 4 pounds per person.  Today, the average American or Australian consumes 150-170 ponds of sugar per year, and those in the most industrialised nations are not far behind.  It's said that for every American who only eats five pounds of sugar each year, there's one who eats 295 pounds per year.  This statistic is hard to deny wince about 60% of the US population (Australia too) is now overweight or obese.

Effects of Sugar

If sugar were nutritious, being addicted to it would be analogous to being addicted to carrots or some other food source that delivers adequate nutrition to be considered "healthy."  In reality processed sugar is not only a drug, it's a poison.  In 1957, Dr. William cod Martin pondered: "When is food a food and when is it a poison?"  His working medical definition of "poison" was. "Any substance applied to the body, ingested or developed within the body, which causes or may cause disease.  Physically: Any substance which inhibits the activity of a catalyst (which is a minor substance, chemical or enzyme that activates a reaction)."  The dictionary provides an even broader definition for poison:  "To exert a harmful influence on, or to pervert."

Dr. Martin classified refined sugar as a poison because it has been depleted of its life forces, vitamins and minerals.  What is left is pure, refined carbohydrates.  They body cannot effectively utilise this refined starch and carbohydrate unless the depleted proteins, vitamins and minerals are present.  When we eat sugar in absence of the nutritional factors necessary to compensate for digestion, metabolism and elimination, incomplete carbohydrate metabolism results.  Pyruvic acid accumulates in the the brain and nervous system, and the abnormal sugars accumulate in the red blood cells.  They simply can't get sufficient oxygen to survive and function normally.  In time, some of the cells die.  This interferes with the functioning of that part of the body and is the beginning of degenerative disease.

Daily intake of sugar produces a continuously over-acid condition.  Consequently, minerals are required from body tissues (such as bones and teeth) in order to buffer the acidic environment and rectify the imbalance. In order to protect the blood, so much calcium is taken from the bones and teeth that decay and general weakening begin.  Excess sugar eventually affects every organ in the body.

In the liver, excess sugar is stored in the form of glucose (glycogen).  Since the liver's capacity is limited, a daily intake of refined sugar soon makes the liver expand.  When the liver is filled to its maximum capacity, the excess glycogen is returned to the blood in the form of fatty acids.  These fatty acids are then taken to every part of the body and stored as fat in the most inactive areas: the belly, the buttocks, the breasts and the thighs.

When these areas are completely filled with fat, fatty acids are then distributed among active organs, such as the heart, liver and kidneys.  These organs begin to slow down, finally their tissues degenerate and turn to fat.  The whole body is affected by their reduced ability, and abnormally high blood pressure results.  The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is affected because processed sugar is a powerful stimulator of the sympathetic branch of the nervous system.  The circulatory and lymphatic systems are invaded, and the quality of the red blood cells begins to change.  An over-abundance of the white cells occurs and tissue creation slows down.

When you ingest processed sugars without adequate amounts of quality fats, proteins, vitamins and enzymes, your blood sugar levels will become elevated.  The body responds by releasing insulin,  a hormone that rapidly reduces blood sugar levels.  Unfortunately, the feedback mechanism that tells the brain that blood sugar had returned to normal is slow, commonly resulting in a blood sugar crash, or hypoglycemic state.  The body must respond to this immediately.  If not, your brain will run out of blood sugar to operate on and you'll go into a coma.  This emergency situation results in the release of powerful stress hormones, one of which is cortisol.  In the midst of all this, most people respond to the hypoglycemic, or low-blood sugar state by drinking coffee or soft drink, or eating something sweet.



The constant hormonal roller coaster ride caused by the typical sugar-laden junk food diet overworks the adrenal glands.  They finally become exhausted from producing excessive cortisol.  When the hormonal system becomes disturbed and unbalanced due to the stress of eating processed sugars, numerous other pathological condition soon manifest - degenerative disease, allergies, obesity, alcoholism, drug addiction, depression and behavioural problems.  Our ability to resist disease progressively decreases as processed sugars displace the nutrient dense foods we were designed to thrive on.  The chances of acquiring one of the following diseases or side effects skyrockets:

• Kidney disease
• Liver Disease
• Atherosclerosis
• Coronary heart disease
• Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Behaviour problems
• Violent tendencies
• Overgrowth of Candida, yeast and fungi
• Cancer (tumours are enormous sugar absorbers)
• Bone loss - osteoporosis
• Tooth decay
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Food intolerance
• Numerous psychological disorders, such as schizophrenia
• Neurological disorders and associated pain syndromes
• Colon cancer
• Diseases of malnutrition

Artificial Sweeteners Aren't the Answer

Aspartame has resulted in more complaints to the FDA due to side effects than any food additive ever approved in FDA history.  Artificial sweeteners tell your taste buds that, "sweet stuff has arrived," which to the brain means, "nutrition has arrived."  When the artificially sweetened drink or food reaches the small intestine, the receptors find no nutrition.  A message is then sent back to the brain saying, "We've been tricked - there's no nutrition here."  The appestat (the part of your brain that triggers satiety) sends the message to "keep eating because we need nutrition to help process all this fake food and run your body."  And that ladies and gentlemen, is one of the ways we ended up with fat, starving people across the world today.  Some artificial sweeteners have also been found by researchers to be neurotoxins that can damage the brain and nervous system. 

Sugar Alternatives

Honey:  Use only unprocessed, unfiltered honey.  You can't miss it because it has chunks of bees wax in it, and you can't see through it.  Used in moderation, this type of honey is supportive of good health and immune function.  If honey has been pasteurised or filtered, you're not eating a food - it's a by-product.  Avoid cooking with honey as it's not heat stable.

Stevia:  Stevia is a herb and is about 1000 times sweeter than sugar.  Additionally, Stevia is known to assist in balancing blood sugar levels, making it ideal for anyone coming off of caffeinated beverages or weaning themselves from sweets.

Fruit:  Use in-season fruit or dried fruits to sweeten foods.   It's a good idea to re-hydrate dried fruits and berries by soaking them for 8-12 hours before using.  Then bring them to a flash-boil to kill any unfriendly bacteria, parasites or insect eggs that may have been laid on them during the drying process.  Only use un-sulfured dried fruits and berries.

Below-ground vegetables:  By adding properly cooked or, when possible, raw under-ground vegetables, you often get a beautiful natural sweetness to salads and other foods.  For example, a cooked organic sweet potato, shredded raw carrots or beets are quite sweet and make great additions to salads and sandwiches.

Turninado Sugar and Succinat:  These are two acceptable forms of sugar, as they're minimally processed and raw.  Raw date sugar is also acceptable, abut again, sugar is sugar, so consume in moderation.

Points for Becoming a Sugar Detective

1. Read Labels!  Food manufacturers know there's an increased awareness with regard to the negative health effects of sugar.  To throw you off, they use big words to hide total sugar content.  For example, instead of just listing sugar as the first or second ingredient on the list (the order in the listing indicates relative quantity), they'll include words like sucrose, maltose, dextrose, fructose, galactose, glucose, arabinose, ribose, xylose, deoxyribose, lactose, trehalose, and the like.  In reality, all are sugars.  Seeing "-ose" on the end of ingredients listed on the label of any fodd is an indicator of how much sugar the product contains.  Quite often, you'll see an many as five or six different types of sugar in on product.  When you add all the sugars up, sugar is frequently by far the greatest source of calories.
   
2. Beware of the term "natural".  A natural sugar is still sugar.  You must be aware of how much sugar you're consuming, particularly with regard to your metabolic type.
   
3. Avoid all sweet drinks, including juices that are not freshly juiced?  The biggest mistake people make, particularly parents, is falling for the marketing hype from juice manufacturers.  They want you to think their "fresh orange juice" is actually good for you.  If you read the package you'll see from concentrate, which could easily be translated to mean from syrup.

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So.  I hope this helps you decode your way through the minefield of sugar laden food and beverages out there.  I hope it has influenced you to some degree to reduce or eliminate refined sugars at least from your diet.  Now you know it's a lot more to do with than just weight gain.  Be informed, be empowered and live a long, healthful and happy life.

Many people who come to see me want to know how to make their muscles appear larger, toned or more defined.  Here is a great article I found that outlines what muscle growth is and how it happens....

All About Muscle Growth

 

by Ryan Andrews, of Precision Nutrition, June 28th, 2010.

What is muscle growth?

 

Muscle growth — sometimes known as hypertrophy — is the development of mass, density, shape, and function of muscle cells. This adaptation allows the muscle to meet exercise/function-induced stress.
Muscle cells are sort of like a bunch of sticks bundled up for firewood. Myofibrils (“myo”, from the Greek mys, refers to muscle) are cylindrical bundles of filaments composed of sarcomeres. Sarcomeres are the fundamental unit of muscle contraction and are composed of myosin and actin.
All of these proteins comprise about 20% of muscle. Water, phosphates, and minerals comprise the other 80% of muscle.

Where does muscle growth come from?

 

When someone does resistance training consistently, they may notice muscle growth. The growth is due to an increased water, number of myofibrils, and connective tissue.
Scientists often break hypertrophy down into two types:

• Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy increases muscle size by increasing the volume of sarcoplasmic fluid in the muscle cell.
• Myofibrillar hypertrophy (sometimes called “functional hypertrophy”) increases muscle size by increasing the contractile proteins.

Some people in the fitness industry will argue that bodybuilders demonstrate sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, and that their muscles look “puffy”; while weightlifters demonstrate myofibrillar hypertrophy, and their muscles are “denser”.

Bodybuilder	Weightlifter

 

Muscle growth and fibre types

Although growth can occur in all muscle fibre types, different types of muscle fibres vary in their potential for growth. Fast twitch fibres are more likely than slow-twitch fibres to grow with intense strength training. This may be one reason why athletes such as sprinters tend to be bigger and more muscular than endurance athletes, and why heavier loads tend to stimulate more muscle growth than light loads.

Marathoner (left) vs sprinter (right)

 

Muscle growth and hormones

Muscle growth is further influenced by type of exercise, nutritional intake, and hormonal status. The type of exercise and hormonal status influence nutrient partitioning — in other words, whether you increase muscle depends on the kind of activity you do and your hormonal environment, which both tell your body where to allocate the nutrients you eat.
Eat a lot, train hard, and get lots of recovery, and you’ll put on muscle. Be malnourished, be sedentary, and be stressed out — and you won’t.

Hormones that modulate muscle growth include:

• growth hormone
• testosterone
• IGF-1
• cortisol
• beta-endorphin, and
• parathyroid hormone.

 

Why is muscle growth so important?

Subjectively, muscle growth improves the appearance of the body. Women who gain muscle mass while remaining relatively lean appear tighter, firmer, and more “toned.” Men who gain muscle mass while remaining lean appear stronger, larger, and more athletic.
Objectively, muscle growth improves function. Larger muscles are often stronger muscles, leading to improved daily functioning in most individuals. Muscle is metabolically active, and affects the way the body handles nutrients. For instance, people who are more muscular (especially combined with lower body fat) typically have better insulin control.
From a health perspective, advancing age is associated with a loss of muscle mass, better known as sarcopenia. Preserving muscle mass can preserve strength, and strength is a predictor of survival as one ages. Loss of muscle function appears to be due to decreased total fibres, decreased muscle fibre size, impaired contraction mechanisms, and decreased motor unit recruitment.

 

What you should know

 

Muscles respond to demands

Muscles respond to the demands we put on them. Ask your muscles to lift loads, and they’ll respond by getting stronger. Ask your muscles to help you make a butt groove in the La-Z-Boy and they’ll shrivel up from disuse, leaving you weak and skinny-fat.
Intense training (such as heavy weight training) damages muscle, which then remodels to prevent future injury. Thus, including relatively intense exercise, particularly resistance training, in your fitness regime is essential — no matter what your ability or age.

 

Muscles respond to calories

Restrict calories and you risk muscle loss and metabolic slowdown.
Studies show that people who restrict their calories (i.e., diet) without also doing resistance training do lose weight, but it’s an even distribution of muscle and fat — not what you want. Indeed, sometimes calorie restricters who don’t exercise end up fatter (as a %) than when they started!

How many calories to build muscle?
You need roughly 2,800 calories to build a pound of muscle (or over 6,000 to build a kilogram), largely to support protein turnover, which can be elevated with training.
The contractile proteins and fluid (sarcoplasm) in muscle fibres are broken down and rebuilt  every 7 – 15 days. Training alters the turnover by affecting the type and amount of protein produced. Again, muscles respond to the demands placed on them.
However, muscles that are overloaded appropriately can actually grow during starvation (energy from fat stores can be liberated and stored in muscle tissue), although ample nutrients (e.g., protein, carbohydrate, etc.) can greatly enhance the extent of the growth response. Although growth can take place during starvation/restriction, especially for newbies, muscle growth with inadequate calorie consumption is less likely to take place with advanced trainees, as their threshold for growth is elevated.
If you’re more experienced and looking to get big and strong, you’ll probably have to eat more.

Looking to get lean? Make sure you exercise! The chart below shows the results of an experiment done over 16 weeks with 25 overweight women. The experiment compared calorie restriction alone (diet), exercise alone, and calorie restriction + exercise. As you can see, at the end of 16 weeks, the diet + exercise group lost the most fat and gained a pound of muscle. The exercise-only group didn’t lose as much scale weight, but they lost a fair bit of fat and added 2 lb of muscle. The diet-only group lost scale weight, but not as much fat, and they were the only ones that lost muscle. Zuti, W.B. & Golding, L.A. Effect of Diet and Exercise on Weight Loss and Body Composition of Adult Women. The Physician and Sports Medicine. 4 (1): 49-53, 1976.

 

Muscles respond to protein

The way our hormones respond to training, and how they affect our muscle growth, depends a lot on our nutritional status — not just how many calories we’re taking in.
In a rested state, muscle protein breakdown exceeds protein synthesis. This net balance can be improved with strength training, but still, normally, we’re breaking down more than we’re building up.
We want the opposite — to be building up more than we’re breaking down, especially after resistance training. We need adequate protein to do this.
One bout of resistance training can stimulate protein turnover for at least 48 hours. During this time, if energy intake is adequate and protein represents at least 12 – 15% of our energy intake, growth can occur.
For those on an energy restricted diet for fat loss, protein needs for muscle recovery and growth are likely closer to 1.5 – 2.0 grams of protein/kg of bodyweight.

What helps stimulate muscle protein synthesis?

• Just 6 grams of essential amino acids can stimulate muscle protein synthesis after training.
• We don’t need nonessential amino acids for this stimulation to occur.
• Elevated levels of insulin can generate muscle growth when amino acid consumption is ample, which demonstrates the importance of carbohydrate consumption after exercise.
• Frequent amino acid consumption (from food or supplements) during the waking hours may also play a role in muscle growth.

 

Summary and recommendations

Muscle growth seems to occur best when training with relatively higher volumes, close to muscle fatigue, and with shorter rest periods between sets/reps.
Thus:

1. When training, 6 – 12 repetitions per set is the optimal range for muscle growth.
2. Train towards contraction failure.
3. Take relatively short rest periods — 30 – 90 seconds. Rest-pause techniques can also be effective.
4. Perform 12 – 20 sets per muscle group. Supersets can help add volume and improve efficiency.
5. Be consistent with training.
6. Consume enough energy (calories), with a minimum of 12 – 15% of calories from protein or 1.0 gram of protein per kilogram of bodyweight.
7. Sleep 7 – 9 hours per night.