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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
