The Seduction of Sugar

My name is Mil Bickings.   I am currently a student of nutrition and will graduate in October 2013.       One of my requirements was to do a community outreach program,  and I chose to write an article about sugar, or more accurately,   the seduction of sugar.   

How do I know sugar seduces you?   Some say that sugar is addictive as any drug,  and I am here to tell you that is true and confess my addiction.   We have Alcoholics Anonymous,  why not Sugarholic Anonymous?   "Hi,  my name is Mil,  and I am a sugarholic."   There,  I said it.   I should be made to go through every step of the program including admitting to my loved ones that I am powerless over sugar.

So how do I  turn the tides and stop myself from shoveling sugary foods in my mouth?   Well,  for me,  it was feeling tired all the time,  weight gain and bad moods.   Knowledge is key.   I gained so much insight on how the body works, how we metabolize sugar, and the stress from sugar overload.

Here is an alarming statistic:  In 1821,  according to the USDA,  we consumed 10 lbs. of sugar  per person, per year.  Today in 2013 we consume 196 lbs of sugar per person in  just one year (over 1/2 lb. per day, and alarmingly the new norm rather than the exception!).     In 1821,  they had their share of disease, but not the epidemic levels of obesity,  heart disease, cancer,  and diabetes that we see today.  We have a monumental health crisis in our society.   According to the American Diabetes Association,  the total cost of health care for diabetes treatment alone has risen 45% in just five years from $174 billion in 2007 to $245 billion in 2012.  Sugar is a primary contributor to many of the health issues we face today with the financial and human costs borne by all of us in higher premiums, poor health, and social burden.

 
So let me share with you what I have learned so far and explain, in simple terms, how our bodies handle sugar.   First of all,  carbohydrates (rice, beans, potatoes, chips, any starch) turn to glucose (sugar) in your body.  Now,  our brain loves this fuel,  and we do need it (in small amounts) for the production of energy in every cell.  Problems arise when we ingest too much sugar on a daily basis.  Over time,  this places a very large burden on critically important organs in our bodies that work  to stabilize our glucose levels.   For example,  take the lovely pancreas.   When we eat foods like  carbohydrates (sugars or starches),  the pancreas secretes insulin which lowers blood sugar to a nice even level.   If our blood sugar falls too low,  our liver kicks in and helps bring our levels back up again.   Its a beautiful balance,  and our bodies know exactly what to do to keep us going.    But,  here is the problem.  If we have chronic high blood sugar,  called hyperglycemia,  and chronic low blood sugar,  hypoglycemia,  then those organs have to work extra hard.   Over time,  these organs become exhausted and cannot perform their jobs well at all.    This is how we pave the road to hypoglycemia,  insulin resistance,  hyperglycemia, and finally type 2 diabetes.   Do you experience stress?  Well,  we have  glands for that too;   the adrenal glands.  These are small glands that sit right on top of your kidneys.  Think of them as our fight or flight glands.   They are extremely important in helping us cope with stress and sensitive to levels of glucose.   They too will become exhausted, and our stress levels will increase.   High blood sugar will also effect our mood-anxiety, anger, depression, memory and focus,  our vascular system,  inflammation,  kidneys,  eyes,   and brain health to name just a few.

The good news is,  we can start to incorporate better food choices  to reverse this metabolic cascade that over time can lead to some pretty serious health consequences.      I'm not saying you can never have a small treat occasionally,  but try to avoid as many refined, processed carbohydrates as possible following some simple common sense steps..  

1.  Read labels.  When you look at a package in the store,  look for any ingredient that ends in "ose"   High fructose corn syrup (this stuff is evil, trust me on this),  corn syrup, dextrose, sucrose, glucose, lactose, maltose etc.,  brown sugar, powdered sugar, turbinado sugar,  white or cane sugar,  date,  and maple.  If any of these are listed in the top 3 ingredients,  this product is high in sugar.   Don't be fooled by "natural sugar."   Your body does not know the difference.  Sugar is sugar.

2.  Get the "white" out of your diet.   White bread, rice, potatoes, and pasta.    Remember,  these are fast fuel foods and floods the body with glucose at a fast pace.  Enjoy better choices and use small amounts of brown rice,  sweet potatoes,  lentils-the high fiber carbs,  because fiber slows down the rate at which our bodies absorb glucose.

3.  Limit or stop all together sugary snacks and drinks, including fruit juices, sports drinks, and sodas.  An 8oz. can of soda has 39 grams (3.1 Tablespoons) of sugar,  and the so called "healthy snack", yogurt,  has a whopping 27 grams (2.2 Tablespoons) of sugar  depending on the flavor.    Even if you buy apple juice,  and the label reads "no sugar added"  have a look at the sugar content.  I would rather you pick up a nice ripe apple that you purchased from our local farmer's market to enjoy,  plus you get the fiber.   Drink water instead.   Try to get at least 8 cups (64 ounces) every day.  If this sounds like too much water,  start slow.  Maybe start with 2-3 cups of water per day and build up to 8.   You can add lemon or lime to make it more flavorful.  By the way,  lemons are very nurturing and detoxing to the liver.   Be kind to your liver,  it performs over 500 critical functions.

4.  Please be wary of artificial sweeteners (Splenda, Nutrasweet,  etc.), our bodies do not recognize these as food, and they place a high burden on the liver, which has to find a way to process them.   My sister can not have any of these,  because she gets terrible headaches after ingesting anything containing these chemical substitutes.   

5.  Finally,  please include a variety of nutrient dense foods to keep your body optimally healthy.    Eat your colors to include greens, blues, purples, reds, oranges and yellows.  Eat lots of veggies (raw and cooked),  low sugar fruits,  such as the berries.    Eat good proteins,  healthy fats,  and drink some water.   Your body will thank you.   Start slow.  Make one or two changes for the next couple of weeks.   Try getting all the sugar out of your diet for just 3 days and see how you feel.   Come on, Leesburg,  are you up to the challenge?  

Please keep in mind that everyone is different and has different nutritional needs.  Obviously,  this is a very general article, and there is so much more information about this topic.    I continue to work on my own sugar demons and am making progress.    Please let me know how you kicked the sugar habit or just did something simple to improve your own health.   Where do you shop to get nutrient dense foods?  What are your ideas for the most economical ways to eat organic?  Do you shop at local farms?  If you eat meat,  do you try to buy free range,  grass fed?    Let's talk food.   The best medicine of all.