In part 1, you got to know how much sugar we are consuming, the recommended intake limits, different names for sugar on food labels and the dangers of HFCS. Today I will tell you why sugar is so bad and how it can destroy your health.
Why is sugar so bad?
1. Sugar is not food-it provides only that which nutritionists describe as “empty” calories. It lacks the natural minerals which are present in the sugar beet or cane.
It causes your body to steal precious vitamins and minerals as B vitamins and calcium from our own organ reserves in attempt to process the sugar, leaving you undernourished and craving for missing elements. This can provoke hunger and bingeing in search to satisfy the missing elements.
2. Sugar makes you fat- Sugary foods are high in calories and low in fiber and nutrition, so it is not all that filling. That makes it easy to over-consume them, and the excess calories can cause you to gain weight.
Moreover, being low in fiber sugar is absorbed quickly causing you to get a blood-sugar spike and an insulin surge, which causes you to gain weight.
3. Sugar displaces other healthier foods-People often eat sweets instead of other foods that are more nutritious and, as a result, their overall nutrition suffers. The result is being overfed, overweight, hungry and undernourished.
4. Sugar and corn syrup are addictive-the more you eat, the more you want. Recent nutrition research shows that sugar is actually as addictive as cocaine as it works the addiction and reward pathways in the brain. Quitting sugar cold turkey, brings on withdrawal symptoms that can last from 3 days to 3 weeks: strong cravings, fatigue, depression, mood swings and headaches.
5. Sugar raises insulin levels-An influx of sugar into your body will raise your blood sugar levels and provoke insulin release from your pancreas, to help clear sugar from your blood into your cells. Normally as blood sugar levels go down, insulin levels return to normal. But overtime, when you constantly eat a lot of sugar, you are constantly calling for insulin release. Your pancreas must then produce greater and greater quantities of insulin to lower your blood sugars. This is called insulin resistance. Eventually, your pancreas may just stop responding and you can become diabetic.
Additionally, high insulin levels promote visceral fat accumulation. Visceral fat produces abnormally high levels of inflammatory molecules into the blood and promotes inflammation. Inflammation is now considered a major factor in many serious diseases including diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, autoimmune conditions, Alzheimer’s and even cancer
6. Sugar throws off your immune system by lowering white blood cell response. According to Dr Stoll, author of Saving Yourself from the Disease Care Crisis, within fifteen minutes of consuming 100 grams of refined sugar, the leucocytic index drops from 13.9 to 1.4. This means that the average person loses about 90% of the immune function. This effect lasts for several hours. This is a nutritionist tip that is important to remember before giving your child suffering from a sore throat a sugary banana popsicle.
7. Sugar and Type 2 Diabetes-People who drink just one 12-oz. serving of soda or other sweetened soft drinks each day have a 15 percent higher chance of developing type 2 diabetes, and those who drink two servings increase their risk by 26 percent, according to an analysis of data from 11 studies performed by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and published in the November 2010 issue of the journal “Diabetes Care.”
8. Sugar and unhealthy levels of blood fats-According to Rachel K. Johnson, RD, MPH, PhD, a professor of nutrition at the University of Vermont and a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association, an association was found between added sugar intake and “dyslipidemia” — higher triglycerides and lower HDL (“good”) cholesterol.
9. Sugar promotes dental caries-Besides nutritional deficiencies caused by sugar, when you eat foods high in sugar, naturally occurring bacteria in your mouth produce acid byproducts that eat away your tooth enamel leading to cavities. The biggest crime is that many popular tooth pastes contain sugar which is not required to be put on the label
10. Sugar Makes You Nervous–There is a clear link between excess sugar and disorders like anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia, learning disorders in children, because of extreme levels of insulin and adrenalin.
11. Sugar promotes glycation and aging-Once they get into the bloodstream sugar molecules bind to protein and fat molecules in your cells. This binding process is called “glycation”. These glycated molecules produce toxic compounds called “advanced glycation end products” or, AGEs. AGEs promote aging and inflammation. And much of the damage done by AGEs is irreversible.
12. Sugar promotes candida overgrowth-A study published in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine found that the intake of dairy, sugar and artificial sweeteners correlated positively with the incidence of candida vulvovaginitis. After being put on a nutritionist-recommended diet restricted in those elements, more than 905 of the patients, were free of yeast infections for over a year.
13. Sugar causes lowered internal pH levels-A more acidic body is linked to poor cellular function and nutritional status which leads to development of disease as osteoporosis, gout, kidney stones, arthritis, cysts, and premature aging.
Science and Nutrition research have now shown us, beyond any doubt, that refined sugar in our diet wreaks havoc on our health. It is a “legal addictive drug” that can lead to all sorts of ailments including weight gain, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, premature aging, candida overgrowth, arthritis, osteoporosis, autoimmune conditions, Alzheimer’s and even cancer.
As a holistic nutritionist in Oakville, I advise my clients to consume sugar in minimal amounts hidden in various foods so that we do not taste it directly. If you already use too much sugar, reducing it gradually will allow your taste buds to adjust to the new taste. Overtime, you will be able to cut sugar completely and enjoy the true taste of real foods.
We offer tele-health coaching via Zoom, so we can help you if you are out of area. If you need help with your health and nutrition, sign up for a 15 Min Discovery Call with Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Life Coach, Maha Nasr to discuss your current goals and concerns and ask how we she can help you.
If you find this information useful, please feel free to share with your family or friends.
