In my quest to lead a healthier lifestyle I know that I must overcome my addiction to sugar. To ensure success I feel it necessary to learn as much as I can on why we don’t need refined and fake sugars in our diet.
Refined sugar has no nutritional benefits and is a refined carbohydrate which the body cannot use. Refined sugar disrupts the PH balance of the body creating an acid environment. Our bodies try to balance the PH in our blood naturally. It uses reserves of sodium, calcium, magnesium and potassium to try to return our blood ph to its proper balance. This leaves our body struggling to meet its nutritional needs.
Sugar makes our bodies age faster. Studies have found that the bi-product of sugars as they are broken down in our bloodstream is responsible for aging. When sugar enters the blood stream it latches onto proteins causing them to stiffen. Collagen and elastin are two proteins that are more susceptible to this process. They are also responsible for keeping our skin elastic and young looking.
From my own experience I know that when I eat sugar, I want more of it. I am a sugar addict and in order to avoid sugar withdrawals, I look for more sugar. Logically this is ridiculous. Imagine having a headache, feeling awful and looking for more of what caused this in the first place. However, addictions do not create logical responses. After eating sugar I often feel sluggish, sometimes angry and have muddled thoughts. During my research I found that these symptoms are typical side effects of too much sugar. Too much sugar contributes to depression, confusion, forgetfulness, uncontrolled cravings, weakened immune system, joint pain, arthritis, candida, ADD/ADHD, fatigue, high triglycerides, high cholesterol, hypoglycemia, weight gain, kidney damage, alzheimers, cancer, coronary heart disease, acidic stomach, type two diabetes, and periodontal disease. This list goes on and on.
With all of the harmful side effects, I wonder why we do not eliminate it from our diet completely. Many sources consider refined sugar and its substitutes to be poisons. We eat 2 to 3 pounds of sugar each week and then wonder why we feel awful. We are feeding our bodies over 100 pounds of this poison every year. When are we going to treat ourselves better?
When we think of sugar laden foods we often think of candy, bakery goods, ice cream and other sweets. However, refined sugar and its substitutes are also found in:
Baby Foods, Bacon, Bagels, Beer, Bread, Bread Mixes, Breakfast Bars, Breakfast Drinks, Breath Mints, Canned Beans, Canned Fish, Canned Fruits, Canned Meats, Canned Soups, Chewing Gum, Chewing Tobacco, Condensed Milk, Condiments, Corn Chips, Cough Drops, Cough syrup, Crackers, Dried Fruit, Egg Nog, Envelope Adhesive, Food Seasoning, French Fries, Fruit juice, Gravies, Hamburger Buns, Hash browns, Honey, Ice Cream, Jams & Jellies, Ketchup, Laxatives, Lemonade, Licorice, Lip Gloss, Lipstick, Margarine, Mayonnaise, Meat, Meat Sauces, Meat Tenderizer, Medications, Mouthwashes, Muffins, Mustard, Packaged Cereals, Packaged Nuts, Pancake Mixes, Pasta, Peanut Butter, Pickles, Potato Chips, Prepared Sauces, Pretzels, Protein Powder, Puddings, Red Wine, Relish, Rolls, Salad dressings, Salt, Sherbet, Snails, Sodas (including diet soda), Soup Mixes, Soy Sauce, Stamp Adhesives, Steak Sauce, Stewed Fruit, Sugar Cured Meet, Syrups, Teriyaki Sauce, Tomato Sauce, Toothpaste, TV Dinners, Vegetable Juice, Vitamins, Waffle Mixes, White flour, White Rice and Yogurt
I am sure there are refined sugars hidden in many more things. However, the above list does give you something to think about.
It is important to know the names that these sugars, sugar substitutes and sugar alcohols hide as in our food.
Acesulfame K, Agave nectar, Aspartame, Corn sweetener, Corn syrup, Dehydrated cane juice, Dextrin, Dextrose, Fructose, Fruit juice concentrate, Glucose, High-fructose corn syrup, Honey, Invert sugar, Lactose, Malt syrup, Maltitol, Maltodextrin, Maltose, Maple syrup, Molasses, Neotame, Raw sugar, Rice Syrup, Saccharin, Saccharose, Sorbitol, Sorghum, Sucralose, Sucrose, Syrup, Treacle, Turbinado Sugar and Xylose,
I encourage you to join me in reducing refined and artificial sugars from your diet. If you are craving something sweet, look to your fruits and vegetables. Fruits and many vegetables will satisfy this desire and won’t have many of the harmful side effects.
Traci Brosman has studied the mind and the role it plays in success, happiness and health for over twenty years. As co-founder of World Wellness Education she educates and inspires people to live healthier lives via her speaking appearances, TV shows, wellness tip videos, articles and conference calls.
Traci believes integrative medicine will become the medicine of first choice and not the medicine of last resort. This has led her to start Holistic Marketing Mentors and help wellness professionals create ease and flow in their business while increasing profits. Her clients learn to leverage their businesses so that they can help more people and not work twelve and fifteen hour days. Her powerful mastermind sessions are known to help participants break past barriers and stop the cycle of self-sabotage.
Brosman’s latest book, Mastering Your Wellness Business, gives you core business principles to running a successful wellness business and staying sane while doing it.
This information is not meant to be medical advice. No action or inaction should be taken solely on the contents of this information. Instead, you should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to your health and well-being.