Sugar. It is a huge part of the American diet. Humans love their sugar, so much so that the slave trade thrived hundreds of years ago for the sake of growing, harvesting, and processing this sweet, addicting substance. Unfortunately, it is a very dangerous substance. It is terribly addicting and available everywhere, often in the very foods you think are healthy. America’s love affair with sugar has gotten completely out of control.
In 1900, the average yearly consumption of sugar was four pounds per person. Today the estimate is as high as 200 to 250 pounds per person (Hmm, I wonder who’s eating my share…). Most of this sugar is consumed in the form of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). The sharpest increase in sugar consumption occurred in the 1970’s with the introduction of HFCS into the food market.
High Fructose Corn Syrup was a big hit! It was quite a bit sweeter than cane sugar and much cheaper to grow and process. HFCS comes from corn (versus cane), sugar, or beets and is used in everything from candy bars and children’s medicine to the fruit juice boxes we put in our kids’ school lunches. It is often hidden in food products and labeled as “corn sugar”. It is a very common ingredient in cafeteria foods and in the snack-type foods moms put into lunches for their children. Let’s face it, sugar’s everywhere!
Getting little people addicted to sugar ensures a lifetime of consistent buying and consumption of foods laced with sugar. This addiction funnels billions of dollars into the “industrial” food industry, and as a result, makes billions of dollars for the medical industry, too. Just try taking snack foods away from kids who are used to eating them. They get pretty cranky and demand more. Few people know that sugar can actually rewire a child’s developing brain and dampen their immune system.
[Ref. Campbell-McBride] If your kids (or you) get sick often, it could easily be related to the sugary snacks and desserts they consume.
But kids aren’t the only ones who can’t live without sugar. I work with many people in my practice who want off the “sugar ride”, and I can tell you it is, more often than not, a very difficult transition to make!
So why is it important to get off sugar? Let’s talk about the actual addiction. When you put sugar in your mouth, you immediately experience a dopamine surge. Dopamine makes you feel really good and when your brain experiences this surge it wants more. Our brains are hard-wired for the taste of sweet.
We can become addicted to anything—running, food, drugs, etc.; anything that causes a dopamine rush makes the brain want more. Sugar is probably the best substance to provide that rush, and although it is not intoxicating like drugs, it is four times more addicting than cocaine. [Ref. Natural Health Dossier]
And what is all this sugar doing to us in the long run? Sugar is linked to the growing obesity epidemic, the growing diabetes epidemic, the heart disease epidemic, autoimmune diseases, ADD, and ADHD. It can also be linked to autism, inflammation in all its forms, and many more ailments.
I think about the role sugar plays in the rapid aging I see in so many people. It causes glycation of our tissues. Glycation occurs when sugars attach to lipids (fats) and proteins. The more sugar we consume the more glycation occurs. The damage done is to protein fibers like collagen and elastin. These fibers become stiff and malformed, which causes one’s skin to become wrinkled and droopy.
Sugar makes skin look dry too; the dewy complexion of youth leaves. And this process of glycation causes terrible damage to one’s whole body, not just the skin. However, we see the results most clearly on our faces, making sun damage much more pronounced, for example. Along with damage to elastin and collagen (which exists throughout our bodies, inside and out) sugar also causes the age spots that start popping up on the backs of our hands and faces. Age spots are caused by too much sugar in our tissues reacting with the sun. It’s like caramelization, a process used extensively in the culinary arts to “brown” foods! We can caramelize vegetables that have sugar in them (maillard reaction) when we cook them over low heat (think carrots and onions); it’s the same principle. Although some of us can tolerate sugar better than others, it is still very destructive to our bodies. Most of us can tolerate it for only so long, and then we start to see the devastating toll it is taking.
A common belief is that sugar is the favorite fuel our bodies like to run on. In actuality, when we eat sugar, our bodies kick into overdrive, working hard with the help of the hormone insulin, to move the sugar out of our bloodstream and into our cells. Our bodies burn sugar first, as fuel, but not because it is preferred, but because it is trying to get rid of it. This reaction is more of a defense mechanism than anything else. Sugar is caustic and damaging to our body, and our body’s innate wisdom wants the sugar out of our bloodstream as quickly as possible.
People who burn fat as their primary fuel source (as they should) will tell you they feel much more energized, have less brain fog, and often see longstanding health issues resolve—and they don’t need to eat all the time. You can go much further on a tank of fat than on a tank of sugar. [To learn more about burning fat as your primary food source, see my article on Losing Weight.]
A healthy body never has more than about one-fourth of a teaspoon of sugar circulating in it at any given time. In contrast a can of Coke® has 12 teaspoons of sugar in it. Can you just imagine the amount of damage all that sugar is doing?
Replacing sugar intake with a balanced, nutrient-dense diet can make amazing changes in our lives and turn “health issues” into nonissues. Eating more of these nutrient-dense foods will also make it easier for those who struggle with saying “no” to their Frappuccino addiction much less difficult. Giving up sugar will take pounds off, increase your energy level, help you sleep better, and best of all: you’ll slow down the aging process.
Cited References:
1. Campbell-McBride, Dr. Natasha MD, 2010, Gut and Psychology Syndrome: Natural Treatment for Autism, Dyspraxia, ADD/ADHD, Dyslexia, Depression, Schizophrenia, Medinform Publishing, ISBN: 088-4560199417.
2. Natural Health Dossier, April 2014, a publication of the Institute for Natural Healing, www.INHResearch.com. Accessed October 2014.
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