Sugar and Health
For most of the history of humanity man ate a diet of wild game and natural vegetation including some seeds, nuts, and fruit during certain sea-sons. In our era, with the advent of processed foods, mankind’s diet has undergone a radical change. People are eating foods that never existed in nature before, foods which the body was never designed to utilize. The result is that the heavy consumption of refined sugar, and refined flour products too, has led to serious health problems for those who regularly eat them. Today 65% of Americans are overweight, and 27% are clinically obese. Even children are starting to show more and more symptoms of this growing health problem. Diabetes is starting to appear more frequently in the very young. When we look at the diet of the typical American, it is easy to see how this has happened. The average American each year consumes 125 pounds of sugar in the form of 300 cans of soda, 200 sticks of gum, 18 pounds of candy, 50 pounds of cakes and cookies and 20 gallons of ice cream. I want to make clear just how much sugar is found in the sodas people are drinking each day. There are 7 to 8 teaspoons of sugar in some form, in the average soda drink. If you have a soda at lunch, one as a snack in the afternoon, one with your dinner, and one as you watch TV or go out for a final snack later in the night, you have consumed 28 spoonfuls of sugar.
Americans are also consuming too many foods which are made from highly refined flour, which act just like sugar in the body, such as pasta, bread and cookies and cakes. In addition to all the many obvious sources of sugar in the typical American diet, sugar is used as an inexpensive additive to improve the taste of many items in which the producers in order to increase profits use cheaper inferior ingredients or use less expensive ingredients. Among these items, you may have guessed, because they taste so sweet, are ketchup, and jams and jellies, which really should have no added sugar and should be made primarily from the fruit. Fruit flavored drinks and fruit flavored yogurts, and especially, sweetened canned fruit have unnecessarily large amounts of sugar in some form in them. But it is also surprising how much sugar, unhealthy sugar, is found in items like peanut butters, bread, soups, pickles, mustard, canned dishes like baked beans, and salad dressings. Even American’s general idea of proper cui-sine contributes to this problem. Making potatoes a staple at almost every meal has been an additional negative health factor. Potatoes, among all other vegetables, are the one of the most likely to affect the body in the same way as refined sugar.
A surfeit of carbohydrates in any form will lead to gaining weight and eventual obesity, but it is sugar in all its forms, and refined flour in our diets that do the most harm. They lead to a fast rise in blood sugar, which causes the pancreas to produce a large amount of insulin to lower our blood sugar quickly, because high blood sugar is dangerous to our health. Unfortunately, this strong dose of insulin makes the blood sugar drop below our normal level and makes us feel down in mood. In order to compensate for this psychological effect, we are driven by cravings to seek an immediate repeat of our ingestion of sugar to again raise our blood sugar to make ourselves feel better, and so the cycle continues on and on. This results in our taking in more calories than are necessary to supply energy to the body. The end result is overweight and eventual obesity. The high amounts of insulin also have other deleterious effects.
They make the insulin receptors become less and less sensitive, requiring the pancreas to produce larger and larger amounts of insulin each time, to deal with same amount of high incoming sugar. Eventually the receptors become very insensitive to the incoming insulin, and the person has developed a condition referred to as insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance aggravates another problem which results from the production of insulin in the body. When insulin in the body is high, another hormone called glucagon is low. Glucagon is a hormone which promotes the release and utilization of fat from the fat storage cells for energy. So that when glucagon is present, you will be burning and thus reducing your fat stores. In other words, you will be losing weight and the weight will be a loss of fat. However, the high level of insulin in insulin resistant people keeps them from burning any of their fat stores. They can only burn incoming sugar and carbohydrates, and when they are depleted, they will begin to break down and use muscle tissue as a source of energy. This is, again, because the insulin has blocked getting access to the body’s fat by blocking the production of the necessary hormone, glucagon. Now you understand why people who have eaten a lot of sugar, and sugar acting foods like refined flour and grains, and potatoes, in their life all the time have had trouble losing weight, or permanently keeping off any weight they have lost through extreme measures like very strict diets or fasting.
Eventually people on these refined high carbohydrate diets exhaust their pancreas, which stops generating any insulin at all, and they become diabetic, and must take insulin regularly to keep their blood sugar from staying at dangerously high levels.
There is another serious problem with too much sugar, sugar addiction. For many years people have spoken of sugar addiction because of the seemingly addictive behavior of people who have a strong desire for foods with sugar. However, it is only recently that it has been scientifically been shown to be a genuine addiction. Rats fed sugar showed classic signs of withdrawal when their sugar “fix” was taken away from them. When they were allowed to eat sugar again, they binged on it. The sugar had triggered natural pleasure producing opiods in their brains. The effect is similar to morphine and heroin, though not as powerful. Actual studies of these animals’ brains showed an accelerated growth of dopamine receptors in the nucleus accumbens in their brains. This helps explain why people who eat sugar regularly, have strong cravings and seek a sugar “fix” many times throughout their day.
You are probably addicted to sugar if you have the following: if you have cravings for food containing sugar, if you can’t stop eating after one piece of candy or one bite of cake or other baked goods; if you can’t go for more than a few hours without experiencing a letdown with fatigue or irritability or anxiety; if you have to have your sugared coffee and donuts or other baked goods every morning and have and eat candy and other sweets in your home all the time; if you regularly drink sugared sodas during the day to give yourself a pick-me-up because you’re dragging.
Nutritionally, refined sugars present another problem. It takes vitamins and minerals to digest and assimilate ingested refined sugars. Unprocessed sugar cane juice is rich in vitamins and minerals and provides some nourishment to the body, though it is still too high in sugar to be good for the body. But refined sugar is an empty calorie, which uses up valuable vitamins and minerals in order to be digested without supplying any of them. Thus, eating a lot of refined sugars depletes the body of these valuable health promoting factors. That’s why, you now can understand, even overweight people who have become so because of large amounts of sugar in their diets, can actually suffer from malnutrition.
Here’s a list of some of the negative health effects of sugar, and the refined flour products and potatoes that act like sugar within the body. Sugar can:
… cause an increase in insulin being generated in the body
… cause an increase in insulin sensitivity
… overstress the pancreas causing damage
… cause diabetes … cause weight gain and obesity
… produce a significant rise in triglycerides
… reduce helpful high density cholesterol, known as HDLs
… promote an elevation of harmful cholesterol, know as LDLs
… increase total cholesterol
… cause atherosclerosis
… increase systolic pressure
… cause hypertension
… upset the body’s mineral balance
… promote tooth decay
… cause hyperactivity, anxiety, concentration difficulties, and crankiness
in children
… lead to alcoholism
… cause depression
If you are seriously craving sugar, you should avoid all sugars. The following is a list of sugars and sweeteners that act like sugars, though you may not have recognized them as sugars before reading this article. Of course, if a label just says “sugar,” you will avoid that too!
AVOID THESE SWEETENERS: corn syrup, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, honey, sucrose, maltodextrin, dextrose, molasses, rice milk, almond milk, white grape juice, fruit juice sweetened, brown rice syrup, maple syrup, date sugar, cane sugar, corn sugar, beet sugar, succanat and lactose.
There are many other points to be made if one wishes to guide oneself correctly. Raw sugar and brown sugar, which was at one time sold in a lot of health food stores and still may be found in some supermarkets, is actually highly refined white sugar with some molasses put back in to give it brown color. Fructose doesn’t increase leptin, a hormone that decreases your appetite, and doesn’t suppress ghrelin, the hormone that makes you hungry. Thus, people who eat food containing fructose are likely to take in more calories, not less. And remember, almost all simple sugars, fructose included, and not just refined white sugar, are metabolized quickly and raise insulin levels too quickly. Just like refined white sugar, they play a role in creating insulin resistance. In addition, fructose is converted into triglycerides more efficiently than glucose elevating triglycerides that are linked to an increased risk of heart disease. Fructose converts to fat more readily than any other sugar, and some believe its prevalence in our present food supply has made it an important factor in making Americans fatter and fatter.
Eating small amounts of fruit will not provide unhealthy large amounts of natural fructose, but fruit juices are best avoided as being too high in fructose for the body to assimilate without generating too much insulin. Aside from limited amounts of fruit, avoid fructose in food just as you would table sugar. One of the best ways to limit your intake of fructose, in general, is to eliminate soda and fruit juices from your diet.
Most artificial sweeteners are increasingly considered to be unhealthy for the body. Aspartame is the technical name for the brand names NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, and Equal-Measure. Aspartame, which is frequently found in diet sodas, accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA. Many of these reactions are very serious. In addition, Aspartame suppresses serotonin production, the chemical in the brain that contributes to your feeling satisfied after a meal. The end result from ingesting Aspartame, just as it was from people eating fructose, is that people are less satisfied with their food and tend to eat more. Diet sodas may actually be increasing your total intake of calories.
Finally, artificial sweeteners in general, just like real sugar, give you an intense experience of tasting something sweet, which psychologically stimulates cravings to consume even more sweet tasting things.
In general, you will be better off health wise if you only buy products that say “no sugar added.” Jams should say fruit only. Often fruit juices are added to the food item, but don’t be fooled, this is an unhealthy form of concentrated sugar too, even though it is originally from fruit. And remember, cocaine and heroine are derived from natural sources, but no one would say they are good for your health. A lot of poisons start out as plant material too. So do not be fooled by people who insist certain sugars are healthy because they are made from natural sources.
YOU ARE READY TO GET HEALTHIER AND FEEL BETTER
Always keep in mind
Sugar is nutritionally worthless and is full of fattening calories Sugar creates cycles of emotional highs and lows, and is chemically additive Sugar is very bad for your body’s health
READ FOOD LABELS
If sugar appears in the ingredients in the first few listed items:
DO NOT EAT THAT PRODUCT
Always keep in mind except for occasional fruit, it is best if you avoid eating any sugar at all.
Many people are addicted to sugar and should avoid all sugars permanently for optimal health.
And remember refined flour products in bread, bagels, pasta, and cookies and cakes, act just like sugar in your body, as do potatoes and potato products too.
We must eliminate refined food products from our diets and choose carefully, selecting high-fiber, non-starchy vegetables as our carbohydrate choices. In this way, we generate less insulin and avoid any insulin resistance and the adverse health effects that result. Remember, even fruits that are relatively low in carbohydrates will generate some insulin in the body to deal with the sugars they contain. Since one of the goals of low-carb eating is to generate as little insulin as possible, enjoy eating fresh fruit, in reasonable moderate amounts. On the other hand, dried fruits should be much more limited because they have a high concentration of sugars. And remember, as noted above, fruit juices are too high in sugars to be appropriate for a low insulin generating diet. Berries, on the other hand, are a good choice.
Jeffrey Rose
http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/sugar-and-health-64562.html
January 23rd, 2010 at 3:48 pm
How much sugar can you have per day without it affecting your health?
We normally take sugar with tea and soft drinks etc.. and we all know this is harmful.. can anyone tell me how much sugar we can have per day? and what are the bad effects to health sugar can cause?
January 23rd, 2010 at 8:50 pm
Sugar Accelerates Aging
(Also see our material on Sugar Substitutes)
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The American Dietetic Association website says:
“Sugars really have no direct relationship to any health problem except for their role
in tooth decay. … eating sweets doesn’t stimulate your appetite for more.”
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These outrageously misleading statements provide strong motivation to discredit and be skeptical about other things that some misinformed “professionals” are incorrectly saying about nutrition. Morbid obesity has been increasing steadily since these professionals began recommending high-carbohydrate (sugary-sweet) diets to the masses.
The following material is presented in direct confrontational opposition to pseudo-scientific misinformation presented by registered and board-certified professionals, who do our society a great disservice by propagating traditional misinformation about nutrition. “The thinking which created the problem is insufficient to solve it” – Albert Einstein. It is high time that we seriously rethink the way we harm our children’s minds by rewarding them with sugar.
For example, diabetics with excessive blood sugar levels clearly develop age-related diseases about 30% sooner than the rest of the population. An alarming number of American youngsters are getting “age-onset type II diabetes.” Sugar (in small amounts) does not “cause” diabetes, but consumption of any sugar has a direct and immediate relationship with the level of sugar in the blood.
When tissues and organs are overloaded with excess sugar, they get inflamed and age more rapidly. Long-term excess blood sugar can be deadly to non-compliant diabetics who fail to control their intake of all sources of various forms of sugar, ESPECIALLY carbohydrates that are high on the “glycemic index” (which means that they release their sugar through the stomach lining into the blood stream rapidly).
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Plain and Simple Summary: How much sugar is “too much?” – Are you diabetic or overweight? If yes, then you probably do NOT need to eat liquid or refined sugar (or other foods that are high on the glycemic index).
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If you say: “I know that I shouldn’t do it, but I’m going to (damage my health) anyway” – then you should probably leave this website, since there is no need wasting your time reading scientific facts that can significantly enhance your joy and longevity. You don’t need to waste time fastening your seat belt or doing things to avoid the risk of preventable cancer either (ironic chuckle) BUT, if you are willing to make a few lifestyle changes to become happier and healthier, then PLEASE READ ON.
The following material about the many dangers inherent in the consumption of sugar (especially in any liquid or highly refined form) applies to both those with diabetes and to overweight non-diabetics (who are likely to become diabetics).
If you are fit and regularly participate in vigorous activities, carbohydrates should be an important part of your diet. You need a significant quantify of glucose to give you the energy required to run a marathon, or build a house, but NOT to sleep or sit around passively in front of a TV with a stomach full of sugar. Complex carbohydrates give you lasting energy (as all good marathon runners must surely understand).
The American Dietetic Association website incorrectly says: “Addicted to sugar? Not possible.”
An “addiction” is defined as: (1) the compulsive need for, and use of, a habit-forming substance characterized by adverse physiological and emotional symptoms upon withdrawal; (2) persistent compulsive use of any substance known by the user to be harmful.
Does excess blood sugar harm diabetics and overweight people? Do you “feel much better” shortly after eating sugar? High glycemic index carbohydrates give you a quick blood sugar spike, which increases damaging inflammation, and then you soon come crashing down, creating emotional depression (and possibly headaches, etc.). Rapid decline in blood sugar produces a strong addictive demand for much more sugar to avoid the physiological and emotional symptoms of sugar withdrawal. You may not understand why, but you habitually reach for candy or sugar water. This can lead to radical personality instability (similar to manic depressive disorder), irritability, obesity and more depression.
If a person in authority repeatedly makes false or misleading statements that can have a negative impact on your health or happiness, then question the basis of their authority. Are use a compulsive user of sugar? Do you think it might be doing you harm? – Read on.
- – - – - High Glycemic Index Foods Trigger Overeating – - – - -
Have you ever wondered why you feel hungry a few hours after eating a big meal? Chances are you ate low-fat carbohydrate-containing foods that caused a rapid spike in your blood sugar. Your body responds by releasing extra insulin into your blood stream. The high insulin makes blood sugar crash back down and suppresses burning fats as well – You get that famished feeling, which leads to overeating.
That is what happened in a study of obese teenage boys by researchers at Children’s Hospital in Boston and the USDA center in Boston. It’s the first solid evidence that carbohydrates with a high glycemic index (those that are rapidly digested and release glucose into the blood stream) contribute to obesity.
On three separate days at least a week apart, researchers fed the boys breakfast and lunch having either a high, medium or low glycemic index (GI). The boys ate almost twice as much after the high-GI meals compared to the low-GI fare. The high-GI meals induced a sequence of hormonal and metabolic changes that promoted overeating. http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/103/3/e26:
Results: Voluntary energy intake after the high-GI meal (5.8 megajoule [mJ]) was 53% greater than after the medium-GI meal (3.8 mJ), and 81% greater than after the low-GI meal (3.2 mJ). In addition, compared with the low-GI meal, the high-GI meal resulted in higher serum insulin levels, lower plasma glucagon levels, lower postabsorptive plasma glucose and serum fatty acids levels, and elevation in plasma epinephrine. The area under the glycemic response curve for each test meal accounted for 53% of the variance in food intake within subjects.
Conclusions. The rapid absorption of glucose after consumption of high-GI meals induces a sequence of hormonal and metabolic changes that promote excessive food intake in obese subjects. Additional studies are needed to examine the relationship between dietary GI and long-term body weight regulation. glycemic index, obesity, dietary carbohydrate, diets, insulin.
The prevalence of obesity in the United States is now higher than at any time in recorded history. Approximately 20% of children and >33% of adults are considered to be significantly overweight. However, there remains considerable controversy over the roles of dietary and other modifiable factors in the treatment of this common disorder.
Excessive fat consumption is widely believed to be a major dietary cause of obesity. For this reason, the US Department of Health and Human Services, American Heart Association,7 and American Diabetes Association currently advocate consumption of a low-fat diet in the prevention and treatment of obesity. Recently, however, the relationship between dietary fat and obesity has been questioned on several grounds including that both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses have failed to show a consistent association between dietary fat and body fat, and that weight loss on low-fat diets is usually modest and transient. In addition, and perhaps of particular significance, mean fat intake in the United States reportedly has decreased over the past 3 decades, from 42% to 34% of dietary energy, whereas the rate of obesity has continued to rise.
Another dietary factor that may influence body weight is the glycemic index (GI). GI is a property of carbohydrate-containing food that describes the rise of blood glucose occurring after a meal. Foods that are rapidly digested and absorbed or transformed metabolically into glucose have a high GI. The GI of a meal is determined primarily by the amount of carbohydrate consumed and by other dietary factors affecting food digestibility, gastrointestinal motility, or insulin secretion (including carbohydrate type, food structure, fiber, protein, and fat). Most starchy foods commonly eaten in North America, chiefly refined grain products and potatoes, have a high GI, exceeding that of even table sugar by up to 50%. By contrast, vegetables, legumes, and fruits generally have a low GI.
A potential adverse consequence of the decrease observed in mean fat intake in recent years is a concomitant increase in dietary GI. A reduction of dietary fat tends to cause a compensatory increase in sugar and starch intake. Indeed, a rise in total carbohydrate consumption since the 1970s has been documented. Furthermore, because fat slows gastric emptying, carbohydrate absorption from low-fat meals may be accelerated. In view of these observations, it seems likely that the GI of the American diet has risen in recent years. Previously, an inverse relationship between GI and satiety has been shown in several, but not all, single-meal studies. Although these reports suggest a potential influence of GI on short-term energy intake, the practical relevance of GI to energy regulation and obesity remains unclear.
The purpose of this investigation was to test the hypothesis that consumption of high-GI foods induces a sequence of hormonal changes that lead to decreased availability of metabolic fuels, excessive hunger, and overeating in obese subjects.
The researchers suspect that their findings apply to the middle-aged and elderly as well. An alarming number of U.S. children and adults are now significantly overweight, following a reduction in fat intake since food labels were required to show fat content, and the 1992 USDA Food Pyramid low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet was recommended.
Sugars and starchy foods commonly eaten in North America (refined grain products, potatoes, etc.) have a high GI. Moreover, many of the “low-fat” foods that have flooded grocery shelves since “experts” have been recommending low fat diets are also addictive and high in calories. Some starchy foods have GI’s up to 50 percent higher than table sugar. Sources of concentrated sugars, such as fruit juices and sugar water, also have a very high GI. By contrast, healthy vegetables, nuts, legumes and fruits generally have a low GI.
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Reduction or elimination of sugar and high glycemic index foods are essential elements of Joyful Aging especially for diabetics, overweight and many depressed and sugar-addicted people.
The following expensive and time-consuming scientific research into many sugar metabolism and disease issues was for the most part motivated by the millions of people suffering from sugar diabetes complications, and the huge impact that excess blood sugar has on our society and economy, but the findings about excess sugar are important to us all.
According to the American Diabetes Association ( http://www.diabetes.org ):
There are roughly 17 million people or 6.2% of the U.S. population who have diabetes (and the numbers continue to increase every year). While an estimated 11 million have been diagnosed, unfortunately, 6 million people are not aware that they have the disease. Each day, approximately 2,700 people are newly diagnosed with diabetes. About a million people aged 20 years or older will be diagnosed this year.
Diabetes is the fifth deadliest disease in the United States (mistakes made by medical doctors being number three). In 1999, diabetes contributed to well over 200,000 deaths (while the 7/26/2000 Journal of the American Medical Association says that doctor mistakes killed 250,000). Diabetes is a chronic disease that has no cure. The problem is complicated by misinformation mistakes now being made every day by medical doctors, government agencies and insurance companies.
High blood sugar is among the most costly health problems in America. Health care and other costs directly related to diabetes treatment, and the cost of lost productivity, are $98 billion annually.
High Blood Sugar is a Silent Long-Term Killer
Many people first become aware that their blood sugar levels have been too high for too long when they develop one of its life-threatening complications (some of which are irreversible):
Heart Disease is the leading cause of diabetes-related deaths. Adults with high blood sugar have heart disease death rates about 2 to 4 times higher than adults without high blood sugar. Sugar is linked to the build up of deadly body fats.
The risk for stroke is 200% to 400% higher among people with high blood sugar. High blood sugar damages and weakens blood vessels throughout the body, leading to MANY degenerative diseases. Excess sugar damages every organ in the body in a variety of different ways.
Cholesterol builds up on blood vessel walls damaged by excess blood sugar, in an attempt to seal the many connective tissue cracks and leaks. Cholesterol is NOT the root of the problem – it is the fireman trying to put out the fire (and avoid a devastating stroke).
If blood sugar is not brought under control, the vascular damage and the cholesterol accumulation continues. This progressively blocks blood passage, narrowing the blood vessels, forcing the heart to increase blood pressure, and eventually leading to catastrophic blockage and the death of tissues and organs that have suddenly lost their essential blood supply.
This sugar-related disease progression can become noticeable as simple tingling or numbness in the toes or ringing in the ears. Most diabetics are not alarmed by these trivial irritating problems and they fail to change their nutrition and exercise habits. The vascular and nervous system damage continues to progress, accelerating the aging process incrementally over long time, and eventually resulting a massive unrecoverable heart attack, blindness, limb amputation, etc.
About three out of four adults with high blood sugar have high blood pressure (over 130/80 mm Hg) or they must use prescription medications for hypertension, which has negative side effects and cascading effects on many other diseases.
High blood sugar is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults 20-74 years old. Diabetic retinopathy causes from 12,000 to 24,000 new cases of blindness each year. In addition, high blood sugar can cause or complicate other problems with the retina, optic nerves, optic cortex (and the rest of the central nervous system, due to reduced or blocked blood flow or micro strokes and hemorrhages). Excess sugar can build up and cloud or change the shape (focal length) or the lens. This may be indicated by the need for frequent changes to eyeglass prescription or halos around bright lights at night.
About 60% to 70% of people with high blood sugar have mild to severe forms of nervous system damage. The results of such damage include impaired sensation or pain in the feet or hands, blindness, dementia, slowed digestion of food in the stomach, carpal tunnel syndrome, and many other nerve problems.
Severe forms of diabetic nerve disease are a major contributing cause of lower-extremity amputations. More than 60% of non-traumatic lower-limb amputations in the United States occur among people with high blood sugar. From 1997 to 1999, about 82,000 non-traumatic lower-limb amputations were performed each year among people with high blood sugar.
Kidney overload, frequent urination and dehydration occur when the system tries to purge excess blood sugar. High blood sugar is the leading cause of end-stage kidney (renal) disease, accounting for 43% of new cases. In 1999, 38,160 people with diabetes began treatment for end-stage renal disease. In 1999, a total of 114,478 people with high blood sugar underwent dialysis or kidney transplantation. Organ transplants introduce many other complications, such as the need to disable our essential immune system, to eliminate the risk of foreign organ rejection, which drastically reduces our ability to fight disease naturally and accelerates the aging process.
Dental or gum diseases are more common among people with diabetes than among people without diabetes. Among young adults, those with diabetes are often at twice the risk of those without diabetes. Almost one third of people with high blood sugar have severe periodontal diseases with loss of attachment of the gums to the teeth measuring 5millimeters or more. This seems to be related to poor blood flow caused by long-term progressive vascular damage.
Poorly controlled diabetes before conception and during the first trimester of pregnancy can cause major birth defects in 5% to 10% of pregnancies and spontaneous abortions in 15% to 20% of pregnancies. Poorly controlled diabetes during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy can result in excessively large babies, posing a risk to the mother and the child.
Uncontrolled diabetes often leads to biochemical imbalances that can cause acute life-threatening events, such as diabetic ketoacidosis and hyperosmolar (non-ketotic) coma.
People with high blood sugar are more susceptible to many other illnesses and, once they acquire these illnesses, often have a worse prognosis than people without high blood sugar. For example, diabetics are more likely to die with pneumonia or influenza than people with normal blood sugar levels.
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People with excess blood sugar can often increase their life expectancy and improve their heath, well-being and quality of life by reducing the intake of simple carbohydrates, which rapidly metabolize into high levels of blood sugar (as measured precisely with serum glucose level blood tests). Any contradictory misinformation from a nutrition professional or medical practitioner should make you think twice about everything else that individual tells you.
Taking oral diabetes medications or insulin injections to lower blood sugar (while eating high-glycemic-index sugar) is NOT the proper answer. High serum insulin levels can be produced in response to excess blood sugar when healthy people eat too much of the wrong foods, or in diabetics who inject insulin in response to elevated blood sugar levels. Either way, high levels of insulin have multiple negative effects on the enzymes in the liver that produce cholesterol, and on the kidneys, leading to liver damage, kidney damage and high blood pressure. Taking large quantities of insulin is NOT the way compensate for ingesting mom’s apple pie, any more than drinking coffee is the way to compensate for drinking alcohol.
High insulin levels also negatively impact the enzymes in most human cells that regulate inflammation, and thus further accelerate aging and the onset of increasingly-severe diseases. Eventually, the higher the insulin, the HIGHER blood sugar levels rise, because the pancreas produces less (or no) insulin, or cells throughout the body become increasingly resistant to the excess insulin. The body’s inability to adequately compensate for excess blood sugar and excess insulin makes diabetes complications and morbidity to significantly increase.
Blood sugar levels are influenced largely by: 1. An individual’s nutrition (carbohydrates, fats, protein, antioxidants, etc), 2. Metabolic rate, 3. Exercise, 4. Body muscle / fat composition, 5. Inherited genetics, 6. Production (or injection) of insulin, and 7. The body’s ability to react properly to available insulin.
The intake of some carbohydrates is necessary for various reasons, but many Americans (especially those who are overweight, have high blood sugar, or high triglycerides) consume far too much carbohydrate, which is known to significantly accelerate aging and the build up of unhealthy excess body fat (a major risk factor for the progression of diabetes).
Each person must learn their unique carbohydrate requirement and avoid too much (or too little). If you have been diagnosed with any type of blood-sugar problem (too high, too low or unstable), you need to listen to your doctor and check your blood sugar levels at least once per day with a precision glucometer. This valuable biofeedback will tell you if what you are doing (nutrition, exercise, medication, etc.) is good or bad, so you can quickly learn from daily variations and mistakes. If you ignore high, low or unstable blood sugar for years, you may suffer significant, unnecessary damage.
One modern problem is that doctors (who have little or no training in nutrition, and no time to talk with their patients) send their diabetic patients to registered nutrition specialist, who has been trained in obsolete, inaccurate information about carbohydrates (like the extreme misinformation at the top of this material).
If we are in an accident that results in a traumatic amputation, we would react quickly, but for people who are consuming far too much carbohydrate, the threat of a future amputation (or many other potential complications or death) does not cause them to significantly change their lifestyle to avoid the high risk of future potential traumatic suffering.
Rapid feedback from a precise glucometer, weight scale, etc. can help us live longer and be much happier than if we ignore our intake of excessive carbohydrates. But, we must learn to differentiate good information from the bad, by paying close attention to our weight scales, fitness, body fat level, mood and daily glucometer readings.
Each of us is a unique individual. We must study and get to know ourselves and our own bodily metabolism, better than our doctors and dietitians have time (inclination, or the ability) to do.
Generally Avoid or Minimize Simple Carbohydrates (unless you are an infant, suffer from low blood sugar, or you are running a marathon). Exceptions: Some sources of simple carbohydrates have both nutritional pros and cons. Such foods include: specific (but not all) fruits, vegetables and milk. The benefits and risks of each particular food should be weighed carefully, depending on each person’s body make up, sensitivities, and hourly consumption requirement for blood sugar (as precisely measured by serum glucose level).
If you have been diagnosed with any form of high-or-low blood sugar, it is important that you regularly check your blood sugar with a glucometer – at least once a day or more until you learn which of your behavior modifications work, and which of your lifestyle choices and habits do not. Change one thing at a time and pay attention to your feedback.
Several people have told me: “I tried reducing my carbohydrates and I didn’t lose weight.” That is quite possibly true (although many sugar addicts “cheat”). The fallacious conclusion often made by such sugar addicts is: “Since I didn’t lose weight when I reduced my carbohydrates and took a short walk, then its OK for me to sit in front of the TV and eat all of the sugar that I crave so very much.” GAK!
Regardless of what other people say, regardless of the partial truths that you tell your friends, quietly pay close attention to your own biofeedback. If you want to lose weight or reduce blood sugar, inflammation, sugar-related diseases and the rate of aging, there are two basic ways: (1) reduce carbohydrates, and (2) increase your exercise.
If your biofeedback numbers (weight, blood sugar, body fat, energy, mirror, clothing fit, etc.) are gradually getting better, then you are on the right track – you may plateau for a while, but you’ve learned how to make things incrementally better. Keep on keepin’ on and feel confident of your long-term success.
If your biofeedback is bad, further reduce carbohydrates (especially the high-glycemic ones) and increase exercise frequency, duration and intensity (without overdoing what is medically safe for you to do, all things considered). Ultimately YOU must take control of your own health and happiness, which are lifelong study-and-learning processes, with new information coming available every year. Don’t feel guilty. Don’t get stressed out.
Don’t let the transient manic / depressive feelings of sugar addiction overcome your intellect and rational thinking. You know what ultimately must be done. You know the long-term consequences for failure to listen to what your biofeedback is trying to tell you. Sometimes, addicts have to crash to the bottom before they are willing to take back control of their lives and set their biofeedback progression in the correct direction with significant behavior modification. (See Changing Mental Images) I hope your intellect will save you such pain (if you are currently addicted to harmful bad habits and you know that you are out of control). There are many sources of assistance and support. If you like, we invite you to write us and we will offer what we can (without trying to diagnose any disease or prescribe any specific medical or mental treatment): JoyfulAging@AOL.com
Simple Carbohydrate Sources
Sucrose – Table sugar, brown sugar, confectioners sugar, raw sugar and turbinado
Glucose – Dextrose, corn syrup and glucose syrup or tablets
Fructose – Honey, fruits and vegetables (See material on specific fruits and vegetables)
High fructose corn syrup is a liquid sweetener that contains 42-90 percent fructose
Honey is made up of glucose, fructose and water
Alcohol Sugars – Sorbitol, mannitol, xybitol
Lactose – Milk products (See our material on Milk)
Maltose, Dextrose – Cereals, flour and many baked goods
Read The Nutrition Facts Label, which shows content of sugars from all sources (naturally occurring sugars plus added sugars). You can use this to compare the amount of total sugars among similar products.
To find out if sugars have been added, you also need to look at the food label ingredient list. A food is likely to be high in sugars if one of these names appears as one of the first few ingredients, OR if multiple of these items are listed as ingredients (even if not first in the list): brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, fruit juice, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey invert sugar, lactose, malt syrup, maltose, mannitol, molasses, raw sugar, sorbitol, sucrose, syrup, table sugar, turbinado or xybitol. Ingredients like flour and processed cereals quickly metabolize into high blood sugar levels.
The glycemic index of a food depends on many factors including harvest time, gene species, cooking methods, age of food, type of processing, protein and fat content, fiber content, nutritional profile, and many other variables. Different studies of the same food have resulted in glycemic variations ranging from 20-40 points.
Furthermore, the human variable has to be taken into account. Glycemic index variations occur in the average person based on age, time of day, activity, etc. Diabetics react differently than non-diabetics. These variables can change the glycemic response to a food or meal by as much as 100 percent. This means that the same person can have different blood sugar responses to the same food at different times on different days. Glycemic Index absolute numbers are therefore difficult to understand – It is not like counting calories. What matters is the relative position on the Glycemic Index.
The information about which high-carbohydrate foods to avoid can be found in any Glycemic Index.
The top left items on this list release harmful sugar levels six times faster than items on the lower right.
For example, nuts and soy products are much better for most people than white bread, rice and cereals.
Processed foods with different types of sugar added are high on the Glycemic Index (not shown here).
The antioxidant benefits of small quantities of high-pigment fruits offset their Glycemic Index position.
Fruit extracts (like grape seed, bilberry, cherry, etc.) can provide antioxidant benefits with low sugar.
Natural fish and meats are extremely low on the Glycemic Index (below the lowest on this list).
Compare this list with the latest research on Acrylamides)
Worst GI
Glucose Tablets Or Liquid
Maltodextrin
Dates
Parsnips
Rice Pasta
Instant Rice
Breakfast Cereals
Plain Baked Potato
Tapioca
Jelly Beans
Cookies and Cakes
Rice Cakes
Waffles, Pancakes
Candy Bar
Donut
French Fried Potatoes
Corn Chips
Pumpkin
Bread Stuffing
Watermelon
Dried Beans
Banana
Soft Drink
Alcohol Beverage (Sweet)
Pineapple
Green Pea Soup
Black Bean Soup
Sucrose
Apricots
Raisins
Beets
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Ice Cream
Cheese Pizza
Honey
Mango
Fruit Cocktail
Popcorn
Sweet Corn
Durum Wheat Spaghetti
Sweet Potato
Potato Chips
Kiwifruit
Orange Juice
Green Lentils
Grapefruit Juice
Baked Beans, Canned
Green Peas
Grapes
Pineapple Juice
Pinto Beans
Carrot Juice
Orange
Pear
Lentil Soup
Chick Peas
Black-Eyed Peas
Apple Juice
Hominy Corn
Carrots
Plum
Navy Beans
Tomato Soup
Apple
Brown Beans
Yogurt
Lima Beans Broth
Milk, Chocolate
Kidney Beans
Milk, Skim
Dried Apricots
Butter Beans
Soy Milk
Black Beans
Whole Milk, 4% Fat
Grapefruit
Cherries
Fructose
Peanuts
Soy Beans
Better GI
Complex Carbohydrates are normally (somewhat) better than simple carbohydrates, but overweight people and people with high blood sugar or high triglycerides should probably limit carbohydrate consumption to small amounts in the morning, or moderate amounts just before heavy muscular activity. The fruits and vegetables that also provide essential vitamins, antioxidants, etc. are usually the best choice (for breakfast or lunch).
If you are NOT running a marathon, you should probably avoid most carbohydrates for hours before resting, sleeping or sitting for long periods at work, in front of a television, the Internet, etc. The obvious exception is people with abnormally low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).
If (when) your blood sugar level climbs above your current requirement for various bodily functions, high-blood-sugar damage is being done everywhere that blood flows. This damage is often incrementally cumulative over long periods of time. Some high-blood-sugar-caused damage (such as diabetic neuropathy, i.e., “nerve death”) is normally permanent and irreversible (neurons do not increase in numbers, as do muscle cells, etc).
The higher your serum glucose level, the longer it has been high, the worse the cumulative damage that sugar causes throughout your bodily tissues and organs.
Apart from a few notable exceptions, most simple carbohydrates (like sugar and especially sweet liquids) should be avoided by many people most of the time. Some fruits and vegetables (which have both simple and complex carbohydrates, essential nutrients, vitamins, antioxidants, etc.) should be eaten in moderation, at times when glucose (muscle and brain fuel) requirement will be high (but NOT just before sedentary inactivity, resting or sleep).
If you cannot relax without a large serving of sugar, or if you get depressed if you haven’t had some sugar in the last few hours, then you are probably badly addicted to sugar and you need behavior modification rehabilitation therapy (as do all addicts). If you can’t correct your bad habits with your own intellect and will power by yourself, then seek nearby professional assistance or a support group, (but be careful about becoming a dependent personality, addicted to endless therapy).
Hopefully, you will be able to study material, such as the references provided by JoyfulAging.com and do what is necessary on your own to change life-long bad habits. If you ever say: “I know I shouldn’t eat this, but I’m going to (do damage to myself) anyway”, you need behavior modification therapy before more serious damage becomes irreversible. Simply adjusting your value system to believe that “fat is beautiful” is NOT the correct answer. Have you ever seen any very fat older people? Morbid obesity kills people before they get old. Excess fat and high blood sugar greatly accelerate aging.
Complex Carbohydrates release their sugars more slowly than simple carbohydrates (although specific complex carbs vary widely on the rate of sugar release. (Comprehensive Glycemic Index).
One important nutrition goal is to maintain stable, slowly-varying serum glucose levels. The amount and type of carbohydrates ingested should match your body’s hourly demand for blood sugar. If you are gaining weight, clearly you are consuming way too much carbohydrate that metabolizes into sugar.
Complex Carbohydrate Sources
Insoluble Fiber – Wheat bran, cabbage, beets, carrots, brussel sprouts, turnips, cauliflower and apple skin (pectin)
Soluble Fiber -: oat bran, oats, legumes (beans), citrus fruits, strawberries, apple pulp, psyllium, rice bran and barley
Starches – Flour, bread, rice, corn, oats, barley, potatoes, carrots, corn, legumes, fruits and vegetables.
Many starches (like white flour, rice and potatoes) are high on the glycemic Index, and should be avoided or limited by diabetics, inactive and overweight people.
Fibrous carbohydrates are digested slowly, which can lead to increased levels of stomach gas and “bloating” in an otherwise healthy diet. Many adults (perhaps 30%) do not produce or store sufficient enzymes to digest certain foods (for example, lactose intolerance, etc.). Enzyme supplementation can help ease this unpleasant problem (and improve social harmony). Many antioxidants are also enzymes.
According to the American Heart Association ( http://www.americanheart.org ):
“Substituting carbohydrates for fats may increase (negative) triglyceride levels in some people. It also may lower HDL (the good kind of essential) cholesterol.”
High triglycerides (hypertriglyceridema) are bad. HDL’s are the “good” form of cholesterol that help reduce excess cholesterol build up and high blood pressure. Thus, substituting excessive carbohydrates for fats can increase the risk of heart disease and other problems in many people.
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The following extensive sugar research summary is presented in an attempt to clearly communicate the many serious health problems that have been directly linked to sugar through scientific research. This list is not complete or comprehensive. It is not an attempt to diagnose or treat any particular disease. See a qualified specialist if you have any personal questions. If you receive contradictor information (as often happens), seek input from multiple sources and pay close attention to your personal biofeedback.
We hope that this valuable information will lead your to superior self-control Joyful Aging behavior modifications – Live Long and Be Happy.
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Overwhelming Reasons Why Sugar Can Ruin Your Health
By Dr. Nancy Appleton.- Author, lecturer, researcher and nutritional consultant. Her publications include LICK THE SUGAR HABIT, HEALTHY BONES, HEAL YOURSELF WITH NATURAL FOODS, BALANCED BODY SECRETS, and 21 HEALING DAYS. (See the scientific research References below)
Quick Summary:
1. Sugar can suppress the immune system and slow down prevention and healing processes.
2. Sugar upsets the body’s mineral balance.
3. Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.
4. Sugar can significantly increase triglycerides (heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke).
5. Sugar contributes to a reduction in bacterial infection defense.
6. Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function, the more sugar you eat the more elasticity and function you loose (wrinkled, weathered old skin).
7. Sugar reduces high-density lipoproteins (good cholesterol that fights heart disease).
8. Sugar leads to chromium deficiency (poor blood sugar control).
9. Sugar leads to cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostrate and rectum.
10. Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose.
11. Sugar causes copper deficiency.
12. Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
13. Sugar can weaken eyesight.
14. Sugar raises the level of a neurotransmitters, dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine.
15. Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.
16. Sugar can produce an acidic digestive track, which impairs digestion and metabolism.
17. Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline levels in children (combative behavior).
18. Sugar malabsorption is frequent in patients with functional bowel disease.
19. Sugar can accelerate aging (through many different complex cascading processes).
20. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.
21. Sugar can cause tooth decay.
22. Sugar contributes to morbid obesity.
23. High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn’s (inflammatory bowel) Disease, and ulcerative colitis.
24. Sugar can cause changes frequently found in persons with gastric or duodenal ulcers.
25. Sugar can cause arthritis.
26. Sugar can cause asthma.
27. Sugar can cause Candida Albicans (yeast infections)
28. Sugar can cause gallstones.
29. Sugar can cause ischemic heart disease and neuropathy (damage to small capillaries).
30. Sugar can cause appendicitis.
31. Sugar can cause multiple sclerosis and exacerbate its symptoms.
32. Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.
33. Sugar can cause varicose veins.
34. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users.
35. Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.
36. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
37. Sugar contributes to saliva acidity.
38. Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity (glucose overload).
39. Sugar leads to decreased glucose tolerance.
40. Sugar can decrease growth hormone.
41. Sugar can increase cholesterol (which is linked to heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke).
42. Sugar can increase systolic blood pressure.
43. Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.
44. Sugar can cause migraine headaches.
45. Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein.
46. Sugar causes food allergies.
47. Sugar can contribute to diabetes and diabetic complications.
48. Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
49. Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.
50. Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.
51. Sugar can impair the structure of DNA (cancer causing genetic mutations).
52. Sugar can change the structure of protein.
53. Sugar can make our skin age by changing the structure of collagen.
54. Sugar can cause cataracts.
55. Sugar can cause emphysema.
56. Sugar can cause atherosclerosis.
57. Sugar can promote an elevation of low-density proteins (LDL – the “bad” cholesterol).
58. Sugar can cause free radicals in the blood stream.
59. Sugar lowers enzymes’ ability to function.
60. Sugar can cause a permanent altering of the way the proteins act in the body.
61. Sugar can increase the size of the liver by making the liver cells divide.
62. Sugar can increase the amount of liver and body fat.
63. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney.
64. Sugar can damage the pancreas (leading to diabetes).
65. Sugar can increase the body’s fluid retention.
66. Sugar is enemy #1 of the bowel movement.
67. Sugar can cause myopia (nearsightedness) by building up in the lens.
68. Sugar can compromise the lining of the small capillaries.
69. Sugar can make the make the tendons more brittle.
70. Sugar can cause headaches.
71. Sugar can over-stress the pancreas.
72. Sugar can adversely affect school children’s grades.
73. Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha and theta brain waves.
74. Sugar can cause depression.
75. Sugar increases the risk of gastric cancer.
76. Sugar and cause dyspepsia (indigestion).
77. Sugar can increase your risk of getting gout (which may be an early warning sign of diabetes).
78. The ingestion of sugar can increase the levels of glucose in an oral glucose tolerance test compared to the ingestion of complex carbohydrates.
79. Sugar can increase insulin responses in humans consuming high-sugar diets compared to low sugar diets.
80. Sugar increases bacterial fermentation in the colon (causing damage to the liver and central nervous system and increasing the risk of breast cancer).
81. Sugar can cause less effective functioning of two blood proteins (albumin and lipoproteins), which may reduce the body’s ability to handle fat and cholesterol.
82. Sugar can cause platelet adhesiveness (clotting and vascular blockage).
83. Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance.
84. Sugar can lead to the formation of kidney stones.
85. Sugar can lead the hypothalamus to become highly sensitive to a large variety of stimuli.
86. Sugar can lead to dizziness.
87. High sugar diet significantly increases serum insulin and body fat storage.
88. High sugar diets of subjects with peripheral vascular disease significantly increases platelet adhesion.
89. High sugar diet can lead to biliary tract cancer.
90. High sugar diets tend to be lower in antioxidant micronutrients (thus accelerating aging processes).
91. High sugar consumption of pregnant adolescents is associated with a twofold-increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant.
92. High sugar consumption can lead to substantial decrease in gestation duration among adolescents with high sugar diets.
93. Sugar slows food’s travel time through the gastrointestinal tract. Sugar can cause a raw, inflamed intestinal tract in persons with gastric or duodenal ulcers. An increase in blood sugar can cause a rapid increase in inflammation throughout the entire body. Inflammation is the cause or result of many diseases, and is linked to accelerated aging.
94. Sugar increases the concentration of bile acids in stools and bacterial enzymes in the colon. This can modify bile to produce cancer-causing compounds and colon cancer.
95. Sugar combines and destroys phosphatase, an enzyme, which makes the process of digestion more difficult.
96. Sugar can be a risk factor for gallbladder cancer.
97. Sugar is an addictive substance. (Sugar substitutes can increase sugar desire).
98. Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol.
99. Sugar can exacerbate PMS.
100. Sugar suppresses immune system lymphocytes.
101. Rapid rise and fall of blood sugar level can decrease emotional stability.
102. The body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does complex carbohydrates.
103. The rapid absorption of glucose promotes excessive food intake in obese subjects.
104. Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit disorder (ADD).
105. Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition.
106. Sugar can slow down the ability of the adrenal glands to function.
107. Sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual and to promote chronic degenerative diseases.
108. High sugar intake could be an important risk factor in lung carcinogenesis.
109. Sugar increases the risk of polio.
110. High sugar intake can trigger epileptic seizures.
111. Intensive Care Units: Sugar limit saves lives.
112. Sugar feeds cancer cells.
113. Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese people.
114. Intravenous feeding of sugar water can reduce oxygen supply to the brain.
115. Sugar increases estradiol (the most potent form of naturally occurring estrogen) in men.
116. Sugar can lower the amount of Vitamin E in the blood.
117. Sugar can increase harmful free radicals in the blood stream.
118. Sugar can contribute to Alzheimer’s disease (nerve death).
119. Sugar given to premature babies often produces high blood sugar, causing them to lose precious sugar, water and salts through the urine, putting them at risk for dehydration and electrolyte imbalances.
120. Sugar given to premature babies can affect the amount of carbon dioxide that they produce, exacerbating problems for those with lung disorders.
121. High sugar diets are linked to violence in prisoners.
References :
January 23rd, 2010 at 8:52 pm
Don’t know specifically, but if I drink 3 or 4 500ml bottles of famous cola per day I will have hyper energy and will put on weight.
References :
January 23rd, 2010 at 8:54 pm
1 teaspoon
References :
January 23rd, 2010 at 8:56 pm
mmm the precise amount would vary on an individual basis, depending on the person’s age, ethnicity (different races have different susceptibility to developing diabetes), level of physical activity, the rest of his/her diet, gender, medical conditions, etc etc etc…that question is impossible to answer accurately for the entire population.
References :
January 23rd, 2010 at 8:58 pm
wow thats a long answer lol, can’t be bothered to read all that, anyway, I’d just suggest having the minimum amount of sugar you can during the day, I mean if you’re having a cuppa, then make sure it’s nice, but don’t keep drinking coke all day, cause that’s got loads in, and is sure to affect your health. Just be happy with the amount you have, and if you can, choose a low sugar drink.
References :
January 23rd, 2010 at 9:00 pm
not alot
References :
January 23rd, 2010 at 9:02 pm
Yes, sugar is harmful – nobody can dispute it – but besides eating as little as possible, it’s important to know when it’s best to eat sugar at all.
The answer is: as a dessert, therefore twice a day. When you eat something sweet just after your meal, you somehow minimize the ill effects of sugar (the release of insulin into your blood is smaller and slower), and your tendency is to eat less, since you are already satisfied.
Now, if you eat something sweet between your meals, not only will you disrupt the digestion that is going on, but also you will make your insulin level peak very high and very suddenly, and that’s very bad for you. And you may end up eating more than you should.
So the trick is: if you eat sugary things at all, have them after your meals. And try to eat homemade desserts, if possible, for they contain less additivies. Never eat between your meals.
As for soft drinks, I would suggest: avoid them completely.
References :