We’ve been told to stay away from fat, cholesterol, artificial sweeteners, gluten, and now it’s sugar. Granted, having something that contains sugar can be comforting and satisfying. Every food creates a metabolic reaction and if the reactions are negative over a long term, it is best to limit or eliminate the consumption of substances that are causing the body harm.
Recent studies have shown that even “safe” levels of sugar are still harmful to mice. It induced sugar cravings, impaired cognitive function and caused the mice in the study to sleep more often and die sooner. While there are some people who can eat an entire french stick dipped in maple syrup and actually feel energized afterwards, they are the exception. People like that are referred to as slow oxidizers. For them, carbohydrates break down into sugar and enter the bloodstream at a much slower, sustainable rate. The other 95% of us will get a short burst of energy, followed by a dramatic blood sugar crash, called hypoglycemia. When this happens, the mind becomes foggy and light headed, often followed by anxiety, irritability and feelings of increased hunger or craving. We are called fast oxidizers and we are the norm. Slow oxidizers may be blessed with the ability to eat large numbers of carbohydrates without the outward detrimental effects of hypoglycemia, but take a look at their blood work and it tells a different story.
The long and short term effects of sugar use are well documented, and research indicates that they are not healthy. Sugar has not been found to prevent any long term diseases, but the long term effects of a high sugar intake lead to a number of them. Consuming sugar-sweetened beverages, such as soft drinks, fruit drinks, iced tea, and sports drinks dramatically increases your chance of developing type 2 diabetes. A recent study in the Journal of Diabetes examined 310,000 patients and found that those who drank just 1 to 2 servings of the sweet stuff a day were 26% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who drank it once a month or not at all.
A diet that is rich in sugar can also wreak havoc on your heart. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that people who took in more than 17.5% of their calories from added sugars were 20 to 30% more likely to have high levels of triglycerides, a type of fat that’s found in your blood. When you consume more sugar than you need for energy, the excess sugars form triglycerides, which are then stored in fat cells. What high levels of triglycerides do is contribute to the hardening of the arteries or thickening of the artery walls (atherosclerosis), which increases the risk of stroke, heart attack and heart disease.
While eating sugar can give your mind a temporary boost by triggering your body to release serotonin, a “feel good” hormone, overloading your system with sugar has the reverse effect. When you eat a lot of sugar, your blood sugar levels shoot way up and then go way down. These fluctuations drive your metabolism and mood crazy, leading to depressive episodes. Anyone who doubts the relationship between sugar and depression need only witness the demonic behaviour that ensues after your child consumes a 12-ounce can of their favourite soft drink. The results are undeniable.
Next week I’ll discuss some sugar alternatives and how you can get off sugar for good.