SUGAR ADDICTION AND ITS DIRE HEALTH CONSEQUENCES

I have always wondered why we are born with the taste of sweet (a sweet tooth). If sugar is so bad for us, then why have this delicious taste available to us? It would be so much easier for the majority of my patients (me included) to just not care for sweets. But this is rarely the case, as most people I know enjoy something sweet to finish their meals or to snack in between meals. This doesn’t seem fair, does it?

DO WE NEED SUGAR?

So, the first question is: Do we really need sugar? And second question is: How much sugar does the body need to function at its optimal level? The answer to the first question is YES, we do indeed need sugar in our body for energy, and this is probably the reason we are born with a sweet taste. But, there are different types of sugars, and in addition, there are good and bad sugars, which I will discuss later in this Newsletter.

As for the second question, our blood needs to maintain a fairly constant blood sugar level to function at its optimum level, and this optimum level should ideally be between 70 and 90. If the blood sugar is lower than 70 and higher than 90, then the body begins to become imbalanced. When the blood sugar drops below 70, this is called HYPOCLYCEMIA, and we usually feel it quickly. The symptoms of hypoglycemia are fatigue, dizziness, foggy brain, lack of concentration, memory impairment, sometimes heart palpitations. If the blood sugar keeps dropping, then eventually a person can faint. The body cannot function without a minimum amount of sugar in the blood. This is why it is so important to eat at regular intervals and not to skip meals.

On the other hand, when the blood sugar goes above 90, this is called DIABETES, and [unfortunately] most of the time we don’t feel bad. This is why it is so important to have your blood sugar tested regularly, otherwise a high blood sugar condition may go undiagnosed for a long time. The exception is when the blood sugar is extremely high, which at this point creates symptoms that most people become aware very quickly, such as poor wound healing, high blood pressure, and blood circulation troubles.

So, yes we need sugar and I would say that the body is “obsessed” with maintaining the appropriate blood sugar level for brain function, muscle function, energy level, and even liver function. But we need the proper amount of sugar, and this of course depends on which kind / type of sugar we eat and also, how our body processes the food we eat to make available the appropriate amount of blood sugar. Therein lays a major point of confusion wherein people think that in order to maintain their blood sugar level, they need to eat sweets. This is a major error; we do not need to eat pure sugar. We need to eat food that the body can process and transform into sugar. Ideally, the best sources are healthy fats, fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. NOT candies and pastries!

DIFFERENT TYPES AND SOURCES OF SUGAR:

Another point of confusion comes when trying to define which type of sugar is the best source. There are so many different types of sugar available on the market that it is quite difficult to make the best choice.

1. White Sugar comes from beet or cane but is always refined and bleached, meaning that it is highly processed and that all the valuable nutrients originally available in the beet or in the cane have been removed. This processing yields a product left with only its sugary taste and none of its minerals or vitamins. This is the worst kind of sugar to use because it actually depletes your body’s own nutrients.

2. Brown Sugar comes either from beet or cane, but is not bleached. On the other hand, it is still a refined sugar because it is highly processed. So paying more money for a regular brown sugar is not worth it. But under the category of brown sugar, are several sub-categories with different appellations. The only valuable brown sugar nutritionally speaking is unbleached (of course if it is brown), unrefined, and most importantly RAW Cane Sugar. This RAW Cane Sugar still has its enzymes, vitamins and minerals, so it actually brings nutrients to the body.

3. Honey is of course a natural form of sugar.  But unfortunately most of the time it is denaturized by being heated to a temperature whereby it kills all the friendly bacteria and enzymes that are so useful to the body.  For Honey to keep its numerous healing properties, it has to be RAW, Unfiltered and Un-pasteurized.  Only then does it become an interesting product.

4. Maple Syrup, Molasses, Rice Syrup, Barley Syrup… all of these are fine but ONLY if they have NOT been refined, pasteurized, and filtered.

5. Fruits:  We all know that they are healthy and useful for the body as they bring many vitamins and minerals, but one need to be careful and know that too many fruits can create blood sugar imbalances as well as any other form of sugar would do. Eating fruits in moderation is the key, especially if you know that you have any blood sugar issues.

6. We also get sugar from Cereals or Gains and Starches
and these are the healthiest choices because they release sugar into the blood more slowly and steadily than any other form of sugar. One more distinction to make is to differentiate refined carbohydrates from unrefined carbohydrates. Unrefined carbohydrates are whole grains, which mean that the grain has been left intact, and that no part has been removed, denaturized or bleached. Organic grains are better because they usually contain more nutrients than non organic grains, and they are not sprayed with pesticides or cultured with chemical fertilizers. This is why I recommend eating only organic whole grains. The sugar from unrefined organic grains (or cereals) is healthy for most of us if eaten in reasonable quantities. The sugar from refined grains stays unhealthy for all of us even in small quantities.

7. The BEST form of sugar comes from Vegetables. Vegetables are healthy for everyone and everybody; we never eat enough vegetables. They have many of the needed nutrients plus the fibers and water. Vegetables are perfect food, as well as perfect sources of sugar for the body because they are easy to digest and assimilate, and the body uses every single part of it.

8. Artificial Sweeteners are big on the market as more and more people want to avoid sugar for weight maintenance. In the United States, five types of artificial sweeteners are approved which are: Aspartame (well known to be linked to Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, Fibromyalgia, and Alzheimer’s disease), Saccharin, Sucralose, Neotame, and Acesulfame potassium. In my opinion these are all unhealthy. The ONLY healthy and natural sweetener that I recommend is STEVIA, which I will talk about later.

THE DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS OF SUGAR ON YOUR HEALTH:

When sugar levels keep getting higher and higher it affects many functions and organs in the body. The obvious and best known detrimental effect of sugar is DIABETES. Diabetes is an epidemic that keeps increasing and sickening people because of the very bad nutrition we have in this country. But, Diabetes usually does not come alone
.  Along with Diabetes, blood sugar affects many other organs such as the heart. High sugar levels literally irritate and scrape the blood vessels, which then become inflamed. Inflammation of the arteries forces cholesterol (because cholesterol is a natural anti-inflammatory substance) to come onto the inflamed areas and deposit onto the arteries to “patch” the damage done by inflammation. The more cholesterol deposits, the more debris come and stick to the cholesterol patches forming what we call “plaque”. Plaque keeps building up into the vessels which then eventually become responsible for a stroke or a heart attack when it detaches from the arteries and gets loose into the blood stream and causes an arterial blockage. Hence, by developing high blood sugar (through bad diet), you are actually increasing your risk of cardio-vascular accident by a huge
probability.

Another detrimental effect of high blood sugar is INSULIN RESISTANCE. I see in my practice more and more women developing insulin resistance at a young age, without being overweight. When a person has eaten all the wrong type of food such as refined cereals and sweets for years, even as a teenager, in later life she / he develops an inability to convert sugar into useful energy. Instead of being used by the muscles and the brain, sugar is now stored as fat. So these individuals are constantly tired, craving for foods, and gaining weight. Insulin Resistance leads to other serious problems such as Hormonal Imbalances
and very often they develop P.C.O.S. or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. This serious condition affects the regularity of women’s period. It is very often accompanied by pelvic pain, and sometimes leads to infertility. All of this because of disrupted blood sugar.

The other obvious detrimental effect of high blood sugar is indeed OBESITY. OBESITY is another epidemic phenomenon in America that goes hand to hand with Diabetes
. As I said at the beginning of this article the body is literally “obsessed” with maintaining blood sugar steady levels because it (the body) knows how much damage an impaired blood sugar level can do. When obesity takes place, every organ and system in the body is under great stress: the bones, joints and ligaments have to carry X number of extra pounds that put pressure on them constantly. Every organ has more to deal with, more food to digest, and more toxins to eliminate. The hormones are disrupted by too much fat, too many sugars, and too many toxins. The digestive system is compromised from A to Z, meaning from the mouth where it secretes saliva, passing by the stomach, the gallbladder, the liver, the pancreas and the intestines. Obesity is an unacceptable state of health for the body, so the body will try to do anything to compensate for the unhealthy state. This
unhealthy state certainly works to the detriment of the energy and vitality of the affected person.

SUGAR, SUGAR, SUGAR… is the major cause of all of these ailments, and it could all be changed! Those of you that know me may know that I am not a purist or a Saint. I have my own down fall, that of being French and enjoying good food. And, I certainly do indulge in sweets from time to time. If you indulge in sweets from time to time, follow these really simple rules: 1.  Do it on exception, not on regular basis. 2.  If you eat sweets, it has to be worth it. I will treat myself with my favorite Tiramisu for my birthday or a special event. 3.  Eat sweets in moderation. 4.
Teach and discipline yourself (it certainly requires willpower) to remove the habit of eating sweets every day. Then, when you do have sweets, you will enjoy it more fully.  A trick that I use is NOT to buy anything sweet and keep it in the house. If you buy it, then you want it. If it is not available, then you don’t even think about it. 5.  Choose the best quality possible. If you follow these basic principles, you will see that little by little you will eat less and less sugar. Finally if you need to sweeten your tea or your coffee, just get into the habit of using STEVIA. Stevia is the ONLY healthy sweetener that you can use on a regular basis.

REALLY GOOD NEWS: Finally, a STEVIA with NO Bitter Aftertaste!

The best replacement for sweetening something is STEVIA.  Stevia is a type of plant, NOT a brand.  Stevia is extracted from a plant called Stevia Rebaudiana, a small shrub native to South America. Its leaves are 2-3 cm long and have a natural sweet taste. There are several species of Stevia native from South America. However, no other Stevia plants have exhibited the same intensity of sweetness as Stevia Rebaudiana. For hundreds of years, Stevia has been used by the indigenous people as a sweetener and also as a tea used for its medicinal properties such as a cardio tonic, for obesity, hypertension, and heartburn. European first learn about Stevia
in the sixteenth century, when conquistadors sent word to Spain that the natives of South America were using the plant to sweeten herbal tea. Since then, Stevia has been used widely throughout Europe and Asia, but has never been approved as a food additive and sugar substitute by the United States. Why?  Probably because Cane Sugar Industry and the national non-caloric giants have been successful in preventing this all-natural, inexpensive, and non-patentable sweetener from being used to replace their patented synthetic, more expensive sweetener products. Japan is the world’s largest consumer of Stevia leaves and it is used to sweeten anything from pickles to soy sauce to soft drinks. How about this: Multinational giants like Coca-Cola and Beatrice Foods use Stevia
leaves and extracts to sweeten foods for sale in Japan and Brazil. But NOT in the U.S.!

In the past, one of most common objections about using Stevia as a sweetener has been that MOST Stevia products on the market have a bitter aftertaste. But finally after years and years of research looking for the right Stevia product for my patients, I have found a Stevia product that has virtually NO Bitter Aftertaste. And better yet, it takes only a very small amount (one gram) of this Stevia product to sweeten a cup of espresso coffee! This new Stevia product is called HERBA DOLCE. It comes in convenient individual packages or in little tablets with a dispenser that fits in your pocket or your purse or in bulk form in a bottle with a plastic mini measure spoon. With HERBA DOLCE
there is no more “guilt” about sweetening anything you want to sweeten. It is 100% natural, has ZERO calories, and does NOT affect your pancreas, which means that it can be used by those who are Diabetic, Hypoglycemic, Insulin Resistant, and also by people who are Obese.

A few weeks ago, I began carrying HERBA DOLCE Stevia in my office in response to my patient’s and the public’s demand for a healthy sweetener with NO bitter aftertaste. And VERY SOON, you will be able to conveniently find HERBA DOLCE on my web store at: www.yourgoodhealthstore.com

If you were not already aware of the disastrous effects of refined sugar, refined grains, and artificial sweeteners on your health and your family’s health, I hope that this article opened your eyes and will allow you to make better decisions in the future. Please don’t hesitate to call or email us if you have any question about this article.

The entire contents of HEALTH AWARENESS are based upon the opinions of Beatrice Levinson, Naturopath, unless otherwise indicated. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as an offering and sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Beatrice Levinson, Naturopath within the U.S. and Europe. Beatrice Levinson, Naturopath encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.

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