SUGAR… IN MODERATION? PART II

Excess sugar consumption is quite destructive, if not downright dangerous. Now, you will run into all kinds of opinions on what is an acceptable amount of sugar in one’s diet once you start talking about or looking into it. All we are saying is that if you are having health concerns, especially metabolic diseases, or many of the other issues we list, or if you are concerned about how much sugar your family is eating on a daily basis, you have to come to terms with this issue.

Don’t be a statistic. Kick the sugar habit. Knowledge is power, so let’s continue addressing just how detrimental sugar can be to your health.

Sugar has been shown to increase the risk for alcoholism. Studies have revealed a sweet preference and sugar addiction in family histories of alcohol dependence, as they share the same neural pathways and genetics.

There is also an increased risk in many other diseases with the overuse of sugar, too. Sugar has been shown to promote cancer cell growth, obesity, diabetes, insulin insensitivity, reactive hypoglycemia and increased blood pressure.

For many, sugar triggers dizziness, headaches, migraines and gastrointestinal problems. It has been implicated as a major factor in unhealthy diets that lead to osteoporosis, kidney stones and gallstones. It is also inflammatory, causing side effects that promote chronic degenerative disease, atherosclerosis (which is blocking of the arteries) and cataracts.

There is a relationship between Alzheimer’s and dementia with sugar, which is where the term type 3 diabetes has originated. It has also been shown to promote the progression of Parkinson’s disease and increase the risk of gout, as well. In addition, sugar has been shown to rewire the brain’s pathways and increase the risk of depression by 58%.

Sugar has been demonstrated to promote an uncontrolled growth of Candida, which is a yeast infection within the body. The inflammatory effect from both the sugar and candida can foster a leaky gut wall, leading to autoimmune diseases of all kinds. The list just goes on and on.

One way people may not realize that sugar is damaging is through its effect on accelerated aging. It worsens signs of skin aging by impairing DNA and collagen structures and increasing something called advanced glycation end-products (or A.G.E.’s), whereby sugar molecules attach to proteins and end up damaging them.

Even more concerning is the ability of sugar to promote fat accumulation in the liver and increase your risk for kidney and pancreatic damage. This is very real, and your visceral fat reading on your body composition can provide you with the probability of fatty liver, as well as fat around other organs. Sugar overload can also damage the delicate filtration system of the kidneys, which is why diabetes is the main cause of kidney failure.

And, although there are even more effects, I think we can end with sugar’s contribution to salt and fluid retention - how it can impair the normal function of your adrenal glands, which affects your cortisol (or stress hormone) function, as well as creating hormonal imbalances overall.

 Take sugar for the demon that it is. It’s not a friend to weight loss – whether you want to lose it and/or keep it off. Sugar will never help you get off your medications and it will only rob you of energy and, potentially, much, much more.