Welcome back to my series! I think this 31 days to better health series will have to stretch…sorry…but I will finish it!
DAY 6: LIMIT YOUR SUGAR
Most of you have probably heard by now that too much sugar is not good for you. We all know that sugar spikes the bloodstream and makes us fat.
But did you know this…
The single largest source of calories for Americans comes from sugar—specifically high fructose corn syrup. Just take a look at the sugar consumption trends of the past 300 years:
- In 1700, the average person consumed about 4 pounds of sugar per year.
- In 1800, the average person consumed about 18 pounds of sugar per year.
- In 1900, individual consumption had risen to 90 pounds of sugar per year.
- In 2009, more than 50 percent of all Americans consume one-half pound of sugar PER DAY—translating to a whopping 180 pounds of sugar per year!
That is just sick! The sad thing is that sugar is almost everywhere!! It is hidden in almost all processed food. That is another good reason to read your food labels, huh?
We rarely add sugar to things! I actually only buy like one or two bags a year. If I need to sweeten something, I use honey or stevia! I love them!!
Here are some more facts about sugar from Dr. Mercola.
76 Additional Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health
In addition to throwing off your body's homeostasis and wreaking havoc on your metabolic processes, excess sugar has a number of other significant consequences.
Nancy Appleton, PhD, author of the book Lick the Sugar Habit[5], contributed an extensive list of the many ways sugar can ruin your health from a vast number of medical journals and other scientific publications.
Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function.[18] Sugar can weaken eyesight.[28] 1 Sugar can cause premature aging.[34] In fact, the single most important factor that accelerates aging is insulin, which is triggered by sugar. 1 Sugar can lead to alcoholism.[35] Sugar contributes to obesity. [39] 1 Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections) [43] Sugar can cause gallstones.[44] Sugar can cause appendicitis.[45] Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.[46] Sugar can cause varicose veins.[47] Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users.[48] Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.[49] Sugar can lower your Vitamin E levels.[53] Sugar can increase your systolic blood pressure.[54] Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.[55] High sugar intake increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs),which are sugar molecules that attach to and damage proteins in your body. AGEs speed up the aging of cells, which may contribute to a variety of chronic and fatal diseases. [56] 1 Sugar can interfere with your absorption of protein.[57] Sugar causes food allergies.[58] Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.[59] Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.[60] Sugar can impair the structure of your DNA.[63] Sugar can make your skin age by changing the structure of collagen.[66] Sugar can cause emphysema.[69] High sugar intake can impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in your body.[70] Sugar lowers the ability of enzymes to function.[71] Sugar intake is higher in people with Parkinson's disease.[72] Sugar can damage your pancreas.[77] Sugar can increase your body's fluid retention.[78] Sugar is enemy #1 of your bowel movement.[79] Sugar can compromise the lining of your capillaries.[80] Sugar can make your tendons more brittle.[81] Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.[82] Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha, and theta brain waves, which can alter your ability to think clearly.[85] Sugar can cause depression.[86] Sugar can increase your risk of gout.[87] Sugar can increase your risk of Alzheimer's disease.[88] MRI studies show that adults 60 and older who have high uric acid are four to five times more likely to have vascular dementia, the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's.1 Sugar can lead to dizziness.[93] Diets high in sugar will increase free radicals and oxidative stress.[94] A high sucrose diet of subjects with peripheral vascular disease significantly increases platelet adhesion.[95] Sugar is an addictive substance.[98] Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol.[99] Sugar given to premature babies can affect the amount of carbon dioxide they produce.[100] Decrease in sugar intake can increase emotional stability.[101] Your body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch.[102] The rapid absorption of sugar promotes excessive food intake in obese subjects.[103] Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).[104] Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition.[105] Sugar can impair the function of your adrenal glands.[106] Sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in normal, healthy individuals, thereby promoting chronic degenerative diseases.[107] Intravenous feedings (IVs) of sugar water can cut off oxygen to your brain.[108] Sugar increases your risk of polio.[109] High sugar intake can cause epileptic seizures.[110] Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese people.[111] In intensive care units, limiting sugar saves lives.[112] Sugar may induce cell death.[113] In juvenile rehabilitation centers, when children were put on low sugar diets, there was a 44 percent drop in antisocial behavior.[114] Sugar dehydrates newborns.[115] Sugar can cause gum disease.[116]It should now be crystal clear just how damaging sugar is. You simply cannot achieve your highest degree of health and vitality if you are consuming a significant amount of it.
Fortunately, your body has an amazing ability to heal itself when given the basic nutrition it needs, and your liver has an incredible ability to regenerate. If you start making changes today, your health WILL begin to improve, returning you to the state of vitality that nature intended.
So what do you say? Let’s cut the sugar today!!!
Have a healthy day!
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