Healthy Eating: One Food you Must Eliminate in 2008

Most people already know too much sugar in your diet is bad for you. But please read on. The purpose of this article is to help you understand why it is so important to reduce or eliminate sugar, starting today. Even honey is a simple sugar. Here is an interesting fact about honey: The honey bear is the only animal found in nature with a problem with tooth decay! Below I hope to present meaningful evidence that will prompt you to make it your TOP health priority for 2008. Here is a small word of caution: I am not a medical practitioner or a health expert. The evidence I have gathered and will present below has been culled from various sources. My interest in this topic has been stimulated by my success with drastically reducing sugar in my own diet and feeling much better. Only later did I learn about information on the long-term effects of sugar on the human body and its contribution to diseases. That is when this topic became so important for me, that I had to talk to you about it. I hope you will agree with this. IF eliminating something from your diet helps you feel better AND prevents disease, it is a reasonable thing to do for you and your family. Here are some of the highlights of my research about sugar and its effect on your body: What makes sugar so bad? The biggest problem with sugar is that it gets absorbed very fast. Sugar rushes through the stomach wall without being digested, stimulating excess secretion of insulin by the pancreas and causing metabolic imbalances.

In the last 20 years we have increased our sugar consumption in the U.S. 26 pounds to 135 pounds of sugar per year per person. Sucrose (table sugar), dextrose (corn sugar) and high fructose corn-syrup are processed into our foods such as bread, breakfast cereal, mayonnaise, peanut butter, ketchup, spaghetti sauce and microwave meals(1).

An influx of sugar into the bloodstream upsets the body's blood-sugar balance, triggering the release of insulin. The body uses insulin to keep blood-sugar at a constant and safe level. Too much insulin also promotes the storage of fat, so that when you eat sweets high in sugar you are opening the gates for 1. rapid weight gain and 2. elevated triglyceride levels, both of which have been linked to cardiovascular disease.

Sugar contains no nutrients. In fact, excessive sugar intake can deplete your body of several vitamins and minerals. Dr. Robert McCracken, a UCLA anthropologist, faults refined sugar for some forms of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, schizophrenia, alcoholism, and even possibly some kinds of cancer(2). He noted that members of certain primitive tribes who consume more saturated fats than Americans, have normal blood cholesterol levels and suffer from fewer diseases than Americans. His research showed that the main difference is that they never touch refined sugar. Sugar can cause or promote fungal infections, tooth decay, skin rashes, mucus production, and intestinal candidiasis. It encourages the growth of a number of bacteria and fungi. Sugar provides a great growth medium for these microorganisms(3). Here is how a high intake of sugar adversely affects the immune system. Sugar impairs the ability of white blood cells to sweep up and kill bacteria. It also robs the body of key nutrients such as zinc that is vital for the immune function(3). Sugar affects everyone. But it can have serious consequences for children. Many children who have a high intake of sugar suffer from recurrent infections, asthma, and eczema(3). Ironically, the insulin secreted to deal with refined sugar causes your blood sugar level to fall. This upsets the biochemical balance in the brain that is responsible for the production of fully 25 percent of the adult body's metabolic activity. The result: your brain begins to malfunction(3). Speaking for myself, (although I have not provided evidence of this here) I know that sugar can be addicting. If you decide to avoid sugar today and in the future, it is not necessarily going to be easy to break this addiction. What to substitute for sugar is another discussion. Based on the evidence above, I urge you to consider avoiding sugar for you and your family. You will feel better. You will keep your immune system more robust. This is something you can do. This is action you must take in 2008. References: 1. Mr. Marc Leduc, healingdaily.com 2. Paul Bragg and Virginia Bragg, "Healthy Eating Without Confusion," Santa Barbara, Calif.: Health Science, 1967, p. 12. 3. Holisticonline.com, "Diet Therapy For Immune System"