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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
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