Decreasing your sugar intake is BY FAR the best thing you can do for your health! And I will let you in on a little secret… it is not near as difficult as you may think!
Did you know that there are over 141 ways (2) that sugar negatively affects your health? I am going to highlight my top six, that I find most motivating personally, and via my clients to truly ditch the sugar.
Did you know that processed sugar is 8x’s as addictive as cocaine! (1) The thing is when you eat sugar in particular fructose (found in processed sugar) – it is missing the hormones insulin and leptin which send a trigger to your brain that you are full, thus being able to eat a half (or whole) tray of brownies in one sitting.
It is also what we turn to when our primary foods are not being fulfilled.
Primary foods are foods that nourish you although aren’t found on a plate. They consist of 4 categories, 1. Career, 2. Relationships, 3. Physical Activity and 4. Spirituality.
2. SUGAR FEEDS DISEASE.
Sugar feeds harmful bacteria and yeast.
“A four-year study in the Netherlands at the National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection compared 111 biliary tract cancer patients with 480 controls. The study concluded that cancer risk associated with the intake of sugars had more than doubled for the cancer patients.” (4)
Therefore, it is as simple as removing the food source feeding the harmful diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and even cancer, we drastically reduce the chances of getting them.
3. SUGAR LOWERS THE IMMUNE SYSTEM SYSTEM
I experienced this first hand when my body was crashing to the point that I was sick for 2 ½ months straight. Yet, due to the idea that I had to keep on going, I was pumping it full of processed sugar to keep my energy up.
Only later did I learn the effect of sugar on immunity, with just six teaspoons of sugar (the amount of sugar in Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar) reduces the ability of white blood cells to destroy unfriendly bacteria by 25%. (3) And the average person consumes around 20 teaspoons of added sugar a day. White blood cells are key; they are considered the soldiers of the immune system, with their main function being to destroy foreign invaders or diseased cells.
4. SUGAR CAUSES INFLAMMATION.
Sugars can also cause harm because they supply excess amounts of fructose. While the small amounts of fructose in fruits and vegetables are fine as they also contain healthy fiber which triggers the release of insulin and leptin, which signal to the brain that you are full. The inflammation kicks in, upon consuming large amounts from added sugars is a bad idea, such as drinking a soda, or eating processed foods with no nutritional value.
Some of you may remember what is now known as “The Great Sugar Hoax” where we were told fat causes weight gain, thus the “low fat” trend, which upon removing the fat they brought in many other processed chemicals sugar being the biggest one to ensure it tasted well. Thus not only does sugar increase weight gain, it also causes acne, eczema, early aging, Sugar is what causes us to gain weight, not fat. It also causes skin issues, constipation, joint pain, headaches, digestive issues and brain fog, to name but a few.
1. SUGAR IS ADDICTIVE.
Sources:
(1) http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0000698
(2) https://nancyappleton.com/141-reasons-sugar-ruins-your-health/
(3)https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070711135623.htm
(4)Moerman, C.J., et al. Dietary sugar intake in the aetiology of biliary tract cancer. Int J Epidemiol 1993 Apr 22(2):207-14.
5. SUGAR CAUSES UNPLEASANT PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS.
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