You've likely seen those commercials on television about high fructose
corn syrup (sugar derived from corn) where a person eating something
containing fructose says to her friend, "Like sugar, it's fine in
moderation". However, when it comes to sugar, determining moderation may
be difficult.
The subject of sugar, to eat or not to eat, has been controversial over
the last few decades. A careful reading of food labels will show that
sugar, in all its various forms (dextrose, sucrose, fructose, corn
syrup, etc) is present in hundreds of foods. This makes our consumption
of it inevitable and frustrating if we want to cut down and use it in
moderation.
In fact, more than half the American public consumes one-half pound of
sugar a day, or 180 lbs a year! Is it any wonder Americans are
dangerously overweight and diabetes is running rampant in this country?
Years ago, a groundbreaking book called Sugar Blues by William Duffy
shocked everyone by asserting that sugar was really an addicting drug,
much like heroin, that caused diabetes, weight gain, cavities, cancer,
connective tissue disease, and caused us to age faster. Yet, we need
the complex form of sugar, glucose, to produce the energy that fuels our
entire body.
Today, despite having several sugar replacements on the market like
aspartame, Stevia, Splenda, Xylitol, saccharin, Lo Han Guo, acesulfame,
many of my patients are still fighting a losing battle with sugar. Why?
Can it be that, as a nation, we really are addicted to it?
Allow me to share with you some things I tell my patients about sugar,
how it affects us, and what can we do to not let it control our lives
with cravings and sabotage our weight, moods, or illness management.
What's So Bad About Sugar?
Table sugar is made from sugar cane or sugar beets, so shouldn't it be a
natural food that's good for you? Not by the time it gets to us in the
supermarket. Sugar is so refined from cane or beets that it is stripped
of all its vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, leaving only the
sucrose. Humans cannot completely process sucrose in this form and as a
result many metabolic malfunctions take place, mostly from the high acid
residue sugar leaves. Here are a few important ones from a long list:
•Impaired immune function - white blood cells don't work
correctly when exposed to a high sugar (acid) environment. Illnesses can
get a stronger foothold in us and eventually over power our immune
system and make us ill.
•Degenerative - the high acid environment from sugar causes
inflammation in the skin and joints and eats away at collagen, the
connective tissue in our bodies. When our connective tissues break down,
premature wrinkling of the skin occurs as well as inflammation in all
the joints.
•Obesity - Eating large amounts of sugar in the food we consume
directly contributes to both weight gain and diabetes by creating a
condition called insulin resistance - the body has more and more trouble
using insulin and so stores body fat, particularly around the waistline
where it becomes a problem for the liver and other abdominal organs.
•Mineral leeching - high sugar intakes can lead to osteoporosis
caused by leeching calcium and other minerals out of the bone, making
them weak and likely to fracture.
•Spikes adrenaline/blood pressure - eating a high-refined sugar
meal like cake, candy, etc, causes adrenaline to be released. This is
why children frequently get hyper after eating sugar. However, the
adrenaline also causes blood pressure to spike by several points.
•Gastrointestinal upsets - refined sugar contributes to an acid
environment in the stomach and intestinal tract contributing to reflux
disease and inflammation.
What Can You Do About Sugar Addiction?
It would appear that addiction to refined sugar might actually be true.
Take sugar out of someone's diet for a few days and watch the bad moods
and flaring tempers surface, as well as cravings, much the same as
drug/alcohol addicts going through withdrawal!
While we do need the more complex form of sugar, glucose, to make our
brains and bodies function normally, we don't need to eat refined sugar
to create it. You can create high quality glucose and serotonin, a feel
good important brain chemical, by doing a little work in the supermarket
reading labels and foregoing those that contain sugar.
Here's what I recommend to my patients to "kick their sugar habit" and
enjoy the immediate and long-term benefits of using a cleaner "slower
burning fuel" in their body:
•Dump the desserts: First, get rid of all sugar-containing
commercially baked goods. Look for "no sugar added" varieties or those
sweetened with Splenda, even honey.
•White Bread/White Rice/White Flour/Crackers: Though white rice
doesn't contain refined sugar, it turns into a high glycemic sugar in
your body. White bread, crackers and anything made from white flour, are
other high glycemic foods that turn quickly to sugar once eaten. Switch
to whole grains with no high fructose corn syrup or sugar added, cooked
brown rice, high protein pastas, and sweet potatoes. These are low
glycemic starches that give slow blood sugar releases. They help create
serotonin to stabilize your mood and sleep cycles.
•Breakfast Cereals: Many commercial breakfast cereals contain
sugar. Switch to things like oatmeal, oat bran, quinoa, and wheat bran
that sport low glycemic indexes (55 or below) that won't spike blood
sugars, adrenaline, or blood pressure. No rice cereals.
•Limit Juices: To 4 oz a day of commercially bottled fruit
juices as most are loaded with sugar. Instead, try squeezing your own
juice from fresh oranges or tangerines and don't add sugar! Or, just eat
a serving of fresh fruit instead.
•Up The B Vitamins: Sugar addictions are in many ways like
alcohol addictions, they rob B vitamins out of your body, especially B1
(thiamine) and B12. Be sure your multiple contains higher amounts of the
RDA for this group of vitamins, as they are crucial to quelling sugar
cravings.
•Power Down The Caffeine: If you drink coffee, switch to
artificially sweetened decaf or half-caff. Caffeine can ignite insulin
spikes, cause blood sugars to drop and create sugar cravings. If you
drink coffee out, forego the big choco-chip cookie or muffin staring at
you from the snack bar. Pack a high protein snack like no-sugar nuts.
•Take a Nap:People who crave sugar are often sleep-deprived and
need the jolt of energy that sugar initially gives them. However, this
has a rebound effect in that it fuels chronic fatigue. Try to get at
least 6-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep a night.
•Try Some Licorice -the kind found in health food stores, not
the candy aisle at the supermarket. This helps quell sugar cravings.
Also comes in tea form.
•Probiotics -sugar cravings often come from/cause a Candida
yeast condition in the gut. Taking probiotics, as well as cutting out
refined sugar, can get rid of candida overgrowths and cravings.
•Read Labels - sometimes sugar is hidden in ingredients by using
alternative words such as dextrose, fructose, and high fructose corn
syrup. These are all sugar and have a very high glycemic index.
Though getting rid of a sugar-habit can be tough it is well worth the
doing. It's not easy. It takes about 5 days for your body to cleanse
sugar from your system and stop you from craving it so much.
After two weeks or so, your body will be getting comfortable with the
idea that refined sugar is not going to be onboard any longer and you'll
start noticing some positive changes. Your skin will look tighter and
more clear, your joints should not feel so creaky, you'll have more real
energy, you'll sleep better, and emotionally all the ups and downs
should level out. Best of all, you won't feel the need to jump in the
car at midnight to hit the nearest drive-thru for a late night ice cream
cone or chocolate shake!
sugar
