Sugar onslaught – It’s just so bad for your health
Sugar is
bad for us and we know it adds to obesity, being more at risk of developing
type 2 diabetes and can cause a whole variety of health issues. Sugar is highly
addictive because it causes the release of opioids and dopamine, which increase
feelings of pleasure in the body, but unfortunately your body gets used to the
level of these quite quickly and craves even greater quantities of sugar. The
maximum recommended daily intake of sugar is 6 teaspoons in a day which as a
natural therapist I find pretty high. Given that there is a lot of added sugar
in many foods we eat we probably have that level already in our daily intake
without adding sugar to anything.
Fructose
Fructose, a
simple component found in added sugars we use can affect the Leptin hormones, which
tells your brain when you are full, thus running the risk of continuously over
eating. Adding sugar to hot drinks to make them sweeter also adds to us eating
too much sugar. This then causes excessive weight gain. By reducing the amount
of sugary foods you eat and remembering to give your body time to adjust,
usually about a couple of weeks, the addiction to sugar will get less. Take a
walk to reduce cravings or eat some protein rich foods such as eggs.
Fructose can affect your organs in a
negative way. Fructose can cause your liver to start to store fat even around
itself and other organs. This excess sugar in turn raises our insulin levels which
then can lead to insulin resistance, high blood pressure and other health
problems like heart disease. Research from the USA has even found a link
between insulin resistance, high fat diets and Alzheimer’s disease. The
research also showed that the brain can be affected by the way it uses glucose.
Rats that were tested showed that sweet and fatty foods are associated in
triggering Alzheimer’s. Added sugar in your diet can also create an excess in
unhealthy cholesterol in the body and too much sugar can lead to depression.
What to do
These are just a few of the reasons it’s
important to eliminate sugar from your diet so start reading labels of the
foods you eat and no matter how healthy it says a product is remember, if it
contains sugar, it takes away from any other healthy ingredients in it. Get rid
of the packaged food and just eat two fruits a day, vegetables and a minimum of
one serve of protein be it meat, fish, beans or lentils. Drink lots of pure,
filtered water and exercise at least three times a week and very soon you will
find many of your health issues will start to disappear.
