The Dangers of Sugar

America’s addiction to sugar has become a national epidemic; so clear that you can see the results of it every time you leave your house.  Fat bellies, tight pants, and unhealthy people walk the streets every day, suffering from an addiction to sugar of some kind. Whether it is the obvious sweets or potato chips or the less conspicuous white bread, beer or pasta, most Americans are consuming far too much sugar on a daily basis.  American food is commercialized and manufactured for no other reason than to make a good profit.  Sugary, fattening food is filling, cheaply produced and can be sold for a high profit.  Do you want to be the victim of someone else’s profit margin? 

Over-processed ingredients, artificial colors, artificial flavors, preservatives and chemicals, bleaching agents, pesticide remnants, overheated and hydrogenated fats, abnormal hormone levels in animal protein food, solvent remnants, and other things that do not occur naturally in food have become a staple of the American diet.  Most people do not understand that this excess of sugar combined with the chemicals is the cause of sticky, gummy layers along the intestinal walls.  Not only does the digestive system turn refined flours into sugar quickly, the gummy residues that collect in the colon lead to autointoxication.  These problems can also lead to malabsorption of nutrients because the parasites along the colon wall consume the vitamins and minerals before your colon wall has time to absorb them.

It is unfortunate that a growing number of adults are choosing to raise their children on sugar cereals, overly sweetened and artificial chocolate milk, white bread sandwiches and processed lunch meats or cheeses.  This kind of diet will only set these children up for Type II diabetes or obesity in their adult years.  Instead of water, herbal teas and fruit juice, Americans opt for soft drinks and coffee which are more dangerous than most people realize.  They lessen the desire for more nourishing foods, thus creating a false sense of fullness.  They contain a large amount of sugar and acid, both of which throw off the body’s pH.  The acid can also soften teeth and bones, drawing out calcium and the sugar can provide an optimum environment for internal parasites.  It is important to stay away from sugar as much as possible. 

It’s a little harder than you think to not eat loads of sugar.  If you look at the back of most foods in your fridge or pantry, you will notice that just about everything contains at least a little sugar.  Soups, ketchup, canned vegetables, hotdogs, even cigarettes all contain different amounts of sugar.  Do you know why that is?  Because sugar is physically addicting and acts like a narcotic on the body, so it keeps people buying the product.  Over many years, your pancreas and your adrenal glands are unable to keep up with the overload of sugar and can throw the body into a highly acidic state which is difficult to recover from.  It is your responsibility as a consumer to read the labels and buy what is safe for your family.  If you think that everything in grocery stores is there because the government thinks it’s safe for you; you are sorely mistaken. 

Fluctuating high and low blood sugar levels can cause intense cravings for sweet foods and sweet snacks.  Here are steps you can take to prevent these highs and lows:

Avoid highly refined grain food and eat complex carbohydrates instead. Complex carbohydrates are found in whole grain products, e.g. whole-wheat or whole rye bread and pasta, potatoes cooked or baked in the skin (not mashed potatoes, not fried), brown rice, millet, buckwheat, rolled oats, beans, pot barley, and wholegrain cereal. These produce a slow release of energy and conversion of starches into sugar because it takes time for them to be digested. This helps to keep blood sugar levels constant and controls cravings for sweets.  Eat small portions of complex carbohydrates several times during the day. Do not consume huge amounts of any kind of grain based food in one meal. Frequent small meals keep blood sugar fluctuations to a minimum and conserve insulin.

Proteins do not affect the blood sugar level negatively and they are required by the body. Proteins are made up of amino acids which create, maintain, and repair skin, hair, bones, organs, muscles, enzymes, and hormones. The best sources of protein are animal foods, especially meat, fish, eggs and cheese. Beans, lentils and nuts are other good sources. Plant protein from beans and lentils is healthiest because it is lower in fat.

Lean cooked meat and grilled fish help bring hunger feelings under control. Avoid fatty, high calorie prepared meat. Since meat contains fat that cannot be seen, eat only small portions of meat. Eat as many green raw or steamed green vegetables as you wish. If canned vegetables contain sugar, do not purchase them, read the label carefully. Canned corn is not a vegetable but rather a grain.  Most canned corn has added sugar, so it’s usually best to avoid it. Eat raw cucumbers rather than pickles. Almost all pickles were made with sugar.

Starving yourself is the wrong idea: it will only make you overeat late at night.  People on starvation diets do loose weight, but they always gain it back. Eat when you get hungry, but do so sensibly. If the portions you eat are tiny you will not be satisfied and soon afterwards, you will be tormented by your cravings. Usually late night hunger is a sign that you have not eaten enough during the day.

Cut out all soft drinks, plain water is best. Drink a glass or two of water in between meals. Cut out all beer consumption. If you must drink tea or coffee, add no sugar! Fruit juices contain too much sugar, eat the whole fruit instead. The fiber content of the fruit slows the digestion rate. The fructose in the fruit is sugar, but in whole fruit it is acceptable.

Reduce or avoid your intake of stimulants.  Stimulants are tobacco, caffeine in black tea, and coffee, chocolate and caffeinated soft drinks. These also cause a fast rise in diluted fruit juice to improve the flavor.