Sugar-Tox…Is Your Sugar Habit Making You sick and tired?
The short answer is yes.
The average American consumers 24 teaspoons of sugar or 88 grams every day!
About 200 years ago, our ancestors consumed about 2 pounds of sugar a year. Today, the average American consumes between 150 and 170 pounds of sugar a year or 3 pounds a week. Between 2018 and 2019, Americans consumed 11 million tons of sugar. Sugar is sweet and seductive. Top dogs in the food industry like Nestle, General Mills, and Nabisco have gone to great lengths to keep us addicted to sugar. With over 600,000 processed foods containing added sugars lining our grocery store shelves, it is virtually impossible with the modern-day busy “eat on the run” lifestyle to avoid all the added sugar in our processed food supply. The dangers of sugar have been well documented. Too much sugar can lead to heart disease, diabetes, and even some cancers.
According to the USDA, people who consume the highest amounts of sugar, have the lowest intake of nutrients leading to deficiencies in Vitamin A, B-12, c, Magnesium, and Calcium.
What is Sugar?
Simply put, cane sugar mainly from GMO sugar beets is a simple carbohydrate made of two molecules, glucose, and fructose. Glucose is a great source of energy and acts as fuel for the entire body. However, fructose is a different story. Clearly, if fructose is from raw organic fruits and vegetables, it is not all bad for the body because the natural fructose from fruit is also paired with fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that slow down digestion to prevent insulin spikes and provide many great nutrients to the body. On the other hand, fructose from table sugar or HFCS(High Fructose Corn Syrup) goes right into the liver. According to Dr. Lustig from UCSF, when you metabolize fructose in excess, your liver has no choice but to turn that energy into excess fat and liver fat is at the root of many metabolic disorders.
Where is it?
Literally everywhere. The Food Industry has literally been cashing in our modern-day society where we are stressed out, constantly “on the go”, overworked, under-pampered, and perpetually overstimulated by all things technology. What do we do when we get stressed out? Turn to food and sugar!! About 80% of the processed foods on the market today have added sugar. We all know the typical offenders like cake, cookies, pop, and ice cream but it is also hiding in foods you wouldn’t typically suspect like pasta sauce, soups, oatmeal, flavored water, yogurt, condiments, and even most breads. What? Our bodies are just not designed to consume all this added sugar in our diet today.
WHY ARE WE ADDICTED to sugar?
Dr.Robert Lustig, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco emphasizes in “Sugar, the Bitter Truth” that “no one can exert willpower over a biochemical process that goes on every minute of every day of every year.” He explains further that the answer to sugar addiction lies in understanding the biochemistry of the brain. When we eat sugar, it lights up the reward center in the brain where Dopamine, a neurotransmitter rewards us with a feeling of bliss or pleasure, and while pleasure is good, too much pleasure is bad. In the process of seeking more pleasure, we are chronically stimulating the reward center, and eventually, we need more and more sugar to get the same “high” or satisfy our craving. He goes on further to say that recent data has shown SUGAR specifically down-regulates the same receptors in the reward center just like other addictive substances like tobacco, alcohol, and cocaine.
Dr. Lustig maintains that we are in the midst of the biggest public health crisis in the World and nobody gets it. He emphasizes that sugar is toxic and poison and we are all sick from the negative effects of too much sugar consumption. Dr. Lustig along with other colleagues from UCSF have unveiled scientific research that sugar is fueling our global obesity pandemic contributing to 35 million deaths worldwide from diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
Are you wanting to get off sugar, but don’t know where to start? Book a free consult here!
The Many Sugar Disguises
The Food Industry has become absolute masters of hiding sugar in foods that are marketed as “healthy” like low-fat yogurts, granola, or “whole grain” cereals. They are well known for disguising sugar behind creative labels that state “natural” or “organic” or “raw.” Listed below are the many names used by food manufacturers to hide sugar in their ingredient labels:
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Dextrose, Fructose, Galactose, Lactose,
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Maltose, Sucrose, Glucose
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Cane Sugar or Sugar Crystals
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High-Fructose Corn Syrup(HFCS)
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Brown Rice Syrup, Evaporated Cane Juice, Corn Syrup
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Beet Sugar
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Brown Sugar
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Barley Malt, Honey, Molasses
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Caramel, Malt Syrup
The Not So Sweet Truth About Sugar
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Sugar weakens the Immune system-just one packet of sugar(4 grams) can weaken the immune system for up to four hours.
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Sugar is highly addictive because it causes massive Dopamine releases which is the reward system in the brain.
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Overconsumption of sugar is scientifically linked to obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and cancer.
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Sugar can provide a significant rise in triglycerides leading to high Cholesterol.
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Sugar feeds cancer.
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Sugar can exacerbate learning disorders in schools.
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Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, inability to concentrate, and mood swings.
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Too much sugar is linked to allergies and asthma.
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Sugar causes wrinkles and premature aging.
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Excess sugar can damage the liver and is linked to Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
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High blood sugar is one of the biggest risk factors for depression(according to Kelly Brogan, MD, and author of “A Mind of Your Own.”
Do you have Sugar on the Brain?
According to Russell Blaylock, a Nationally recognized Board Certified Neurosurgeon, even moderate amounts of sugar are damaging to the brain. Dr. Blaylock maintains that sugar dramatically increases the free radical generation of AGE’s or Advanced Glycation End-products that lead to inflammation and excitotoxicity of the brain which is at the root cause of many neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
According to Dr. Daniel Amen, a leading brain disorder specialist, and Director of the Amen Clinics, “Sugar is NOT your friend.” People who have a simple carb diet laden with breads, pastas, fruit juice, and sugars have a 400% increased risk for Alzheimer’s Disease which some scientists refer to as type 3 diabetes. Um ok, I’m sorry if that doesn’t scare you into breaking up with sugar, nothing will.
Good Reads
“The Hacking of the American Mind” and “Fat Chance” by Dr. Robert Lustig
“The Case Against Sugar” by Gary Taubes
“I Quit Sugar” by Sarah Wilson
“The Obesity Code” by Dr. Jason Fung
MUST WATCHES
“Sugar, the Bitter Truth” by Robert Lustig
“The Truth About Sugar” by Fiona Phillips
“Fed Up” by Stephanie Soechtig
Disclaimer
The information contained in this blog and any content within therootcausewellness.com website is intended to educate, empower, and inspire readers to make positive choices for their own overall health and wellbeing. I am not a doctor, psychiatrist, or therapist and the information contained in this website is my personal opinion based on my education, real-life experience, and research unless otherwise stated. Therefore, It is in no way intended to substitute for professional medical advice from a doctor or licensed health professional. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease or medical condition. It is always recommended that you consult with a doctor or licensed medical professional before making any dietary, lifestyle, exercise, medication, or supplement changes. Kathleen Freydl, Certified Health Coach and Owner of the Root Cause Wellness, accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever for the use or misuse of the information contained in therootcausewellness.com website including affiliate links.