First there are some facts that you need to learn about sugar, and the it will make more sense to eliminate sugar from your diet
1-Sugar and sugar substitutes are four times more addictive than cocaine.and it has withdrawal symptoms( U of Bordeux, 2007)
Sugar addiction develops in several different ways. Partly it is due to the fact that sugar effects the area in the brain called the reward pathway in the same manner as drugs and alcohol, it over stimulates the neurotransmitters until they no longer function properly, tolerance develops and the mind becomes dependent on sugar to function.
A quick dose of sugar causes blood sugar to rise rapidly. To compensate, the body releases insulin, forcing the blood sugar level to plummet. The end result? Another sugar attack. Common side effects include nervousness, crankiness, headaches, and bad dreams. (Padus, Emrika, et al. The Complete Guide to Your Emotions & Your Health. p 371. PA: Rodale Press, 1986.)
2-Today’s Consumption: Today, an average American consumes 2-3 pounds of sugar each week. While at the end of the 19th century (1887-1890), the average American consumed only 5 lbs. per year.
3-Sugar suppresses the immune system. If a person consumed no sugar for 12 hours, each white blood cell could destroy an average of fourteen bacteria. When 24 teaspoons of sugar were ingested (average amount in a medium piece of cheesecake or a milk shake) the white blood cells were so compromised they could only destroy an average of one bacterium each, a 92% reduction. (Nedley, Neil, M.D. Proof Positive. p 184-185. OK: Nedley. 1998, 1999.)
In November of 1973 the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a study by A. Sanchez et al., showing that ingesting 100 grams of simple sugar lowers white blood cell activity for up to 5 hours. He got this result using processed honey, table sugar, and processed orange juice. This translates into a 50% reduction in the ability of white blood cells to engulf bacteria. The immune suppressing effect begins within 10 minutes of ingesting the sugar
4-"Drinking even one sugary drink a day raises the risk of developing type-2 diabetes by 25 percent
"Besides increasing their risk of type-2 diabetes, people who drink one sugary beverage a day increase their risk of developing metabolic syndrome by 20 percent. Metabolic syndrome is the name given to a collection of risk factors that indicate a progression not only towards type-2 diabetes, but also towards heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and liver disease."
"Research presented at the American Heart Association's Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention Conference explained that consumption of HFCS-sweetened soda has led to 130,000 new cases of diabetes, 14,000 new cases of heart disease, and 50,000 more "life years" with heart disease -- and all within just ten years."
5-"A study of rats fed diets with equal calories from sugars and starches, for example, found the animals on the high-sugar diet developed more cases of breast cancer."
"Sixty-eight mice were injected with an aggressive strain of breast cancer, then fed diets to induce either high blood-sugar (hyperglycemia), normoglycemia or low blood-sugar (hypoglycemia).
There was a dose-dependent response in which the lower the blood glucose, the greater the survival rate. After 70 days, 8 of 24 hyperglycemic mice survived compared to 16 of 24 normoglycemic and 19 of 20 hypoglycemic.
This suggests that regulating sugar intake is key to slowing breast tumor growth."
"An epidemiological study in 21 modern countries that keep track of morbidity and mortality (Europe, North America, Japan and others) revealed that sugar intake is a strong risk factor that contributes to higher breast cancer rates, particularly in older women."
7-Research out of the University California-Davis is now backing up his claim. The study showed that excess consumption of high fructose corn syrup increases a type of artery-clogging cholesterol – which in turn increases the risk for heart disease.
"Fructose rapidly leads to weight gain and abdominal obesity (“beer belly”), decreased HDL, increased LDL, elevated triglycerides, elevated blood sugar, and high blood pressure—i.e., classic metabolic syndrome."
9-Elevated insulin also signals the liver to produce more cholesterol. We produce far more cholesterol than we eat.it lowers the HDL (the good cholestrol levels)
Is sugar toxic?
The refining process for white sugar includes the use of several chemicals to produce the white in sugar. These may be toxic at the level of sugar consumption today.
However sugar in the raw (Demerara or turbinado) sugars should not be toxic. The same can be said for certified organic dehydrated cane juice or organic honey.
Well, besides that sugar is addictive and hard to give up, most of our sugar intake is probably hidden in processed food and not directly from sweets or sugar you use at home. Most breads, sauces, ketchups, canned foods,cereals, peanut butter, fruit yoghurt, .. Etc most processed food will have some form of sugar which can come in different names in the ingredients that you have to learn to look for. And the best thing is to leave out processed food all together.
Be aware of what has sugar in your food, get in habit of reading labels. Sugar has many names:
- sucrose
- lactose
- glucose
- dextrose
- honey
- sorbitol
- fructose
- maltose
- molasses
- corn syrup
- maple syrup
- corn sweetener
- juice concentrate
- natural sweeteners
Steps to try an break your sugar addiction
1- eat more sweet veggies like sweet potato, squash, corn, peas it ll reduce your sugar cravings
2-remove all indirect sugar intake from processed food , since it has addictive Properties the more sugar there is in your diet the more you will crave it.
3- reduce direct sugar intake as much as u can, don't leave sweets and desserts around the house
4- when you are craving sugar your body probably is lacking energy, look for it in more nutritious foods have some fruit, or a heathy meal and drink some water and see if your cravings subside.
5-sugar cravings are also increased by stress so try to find better alternatives to deal with your stress,explore what works for you , a walk, a warm shower, meet up with friends, dance on music...what ever it is u pick don't make it related to food,your body is looking for emotional relief not hunger relief.
The two natural sugar alternatives are
1-raw honey ( not heated like most commercial honey)
2-stevia leaves ( get the green powder if u cant find the leaves not the white powder which is processed)
The best state for sugar if you have to use it is organic raw cane sugar ( Turbinado) not brown sugar which is white sugar+molasses
Do a favour to the new generation, don't get your kids into the habit of having sweets and sugary drinks daily, besides breakfast cereal which is loaded in sugar and lacking most of the nutrition.
Diabetes in children:
The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2010
Globally, there are close to 500,000 children under the age of 15 with type 1 diabetes.
Every day 200 children develop type 1 diabetes – that’s 70,000 children a year.
Type 1 diabetes is increasing in children at a rate of 3% each year.
Type 1 diabetes is increasing fastest in pre-school children, at a rate of 5% per year.
As rates of childhood obesity have risen sharply, so have the rates of type 2 diabetes among children. From 2005 to 2008, type 2 diabetes doubled in American children.
As much as your child loves candy bars and chocolate try to make a wise choice by not buying or allowing your child to consume these dangerous products when ever you can, and you can make sweet healthy choices at home as a treat every once in a while.
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