Sugar
"Sugar is without question
one of the most dangerous substances on the food market today.
What we are talking about
here is sucrose, the white crystalline sugar refined from cane
or beet juice by stripping away all its vitamins, minerals,
protein, fiber, water, and other synergists.
White sugar is an
industrially processed chemical not found in nature, and it is
not fit for human consumption.
Other sugars such as fructose
(in fruit and honey), lactose (in milk), and maltose (in grains)
are natural substances with nutritional value.
Raw sugar is a coarse, brown,
sticky variety made by simply boiling down whole cane juice and
it too is a wholesome food, but it is very difficult to find in
the Western world.
The so called 'brown sugar'
sold in supermarkets is nothing more than refined white sugar
with some molasses spun back into it for color and flavor. It is
not a 'health food'.
Sugar suppresses the immune
system by causing the pancreas to secrete abnormally large
quantities of insulin, which is required to break it down.
Insulin remains in
circulation in the bloodstream long after sugar has been
metabolized, and one of its main side effects is to suppress the
release of growth hormone in the pituitary gland.
Growth hormone is a primary
regulator of the immune system, so anyone who eats a lot of
sugar every day is going to experience critical growth hormone
deficiency and consequent immune deficiency caused by the
constant presence of insulin in the bloodstream.
Furthermore, refined white
sugar is treated as a toxic foreign agent by the immune system,
owing to its unnatural chemical structure as well as the
industrial contaminants it retains from the refining process.
Sugar thus triggers an
unnecessary immune response while simultaneously suppressing
immune function, thereby debilitating the immune system with a
double edged sword.
Sugar is the chief culprit in
many diseases and degenerative conditions.
It can easily cause diabetes
and is a major factor in candidacies, both of which are epidemic
in the industrialized Western world.
Since sugar is 'nutritionally
naked', the body must 'borrow' the missing vitamins, minerals
and other synergistic nutrients required to metabolize sugar
from its own tissues.
Heavy sugar consumption
therefore causes a constant siphoning of nutrients from the
body. Recent evidence suggests that sugar causes dental problems
not so much by contact with the teeth but rather by leaching the
teeth of calcium from within.
Sugar also depletes the body
of potassium and magnesium, which are required for proper
cardiac function, and is therefore a major factor in heart
disease.
The nutritional leaching
caused by sugar can give rise to intense food cravings and
eating binges, as the body seeks to replenish the nutrients
'stolen' from it by sugar.
Most people consume far more
sugar than their bodies can possibly use for energy. When this
happens, the liver converts the extra sugar into molecules
called triglycerides and stores it as fat, or else produces
cholesterol from the by-products of sugar and deposits it in
veins and arteries. Sugar is thus a major factor in obesity and
arteriosclerosis as well.
Sugar is an addictive
substance. In Sugar Blues, William Dufty writes; 'The difference
between sugar addiction and narcotic addiction is largely one of
degree.'
Abruptly giving up sugar
invariably brings on the sort of withdrawal symptoms associated
with narcotic drugs- fatigue, lassitude, depression, moodiness,
headaches, aching limbs.
Its addictive nature is
also reflected in current per capita consumption in the USA- an
average of 130 pounds of sugar per person per year, or about 1/3
pound daily. That qualifies as 'substance abuse'. Most people
don't even realize how much sugar they're taking every day
because much of it is hidden in other foods.
A 12-ounce can of a typical
soft drink, for example, contains about nine teaspoons of
refined white sugar.
Sugar consumption in the USA
is so high that it has also caused a social problem through its
deleterious effects on behavior, especially in children, who are
displaying increasingly severe behavioral disorders and learning
disabilities.
In a recent study conducted
by Dr. C. Keith Connors of the Children's Hospital in
Washington, DC, a 'deadly' link was established between the
consumption of sugar with carbohydrates (such as breakfast
cereal, cake, and biscuits) and violent behavior, hypertension,
and learning impediments.
In other studies, chronic
violence in prisons was remarkably reduced simply by eliminating
refined sugar and starch from prison diets. Singapore in 1991
banned sugary soft drink sales from all schools and youth
center's, citing the danger that sugar poses to the mental and
physical health of children.
If you or your
children have a sweet tooth, you can easily satisfy it by
concocting treats with honey, molasses, and barley malt, which
are not only sweet but also nutritious and therapeutically
beneficial."
76 Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health
