Sugar Craze: The Suicide

In the US, the average person consumes 154 pounds of sugar per year. That's 53 teaspoons of sugar per day!

In Australia, it is about 65 kilograms a year, 35 teaspoons a day. In France, 35 kgs a year. In Denmark, 40 kgs.

Everywhere, the consumption of sugar has increased. The predictions for diabetes in the next few years are scary. Already now, more and more people (younger and younger as well) develop diabetes. But do you see anything being done to really slow down the process? I don't. It is as if nothing can be done to prevent this, this is an inevitable future that awaits the next generations.

Sugars are in everything, chicken soup, pickles, beans, peanut butter, bread, macaroni and cheese, sauce, mustard and relish, jam, yogurt, canned fruit and vegetables, salad dressings, not to mention the desserts packed with the poison.

SugarWhite sugar is a toxic, meaning an unnatural substance processed mostly from sugar cane or beets. All its vitamins, minerals and enzymes have been stripped away during processing. Since white sugar doesn't have any of the necessary nutrients to its own digestion, especially the vitamins B, the body has to find them somewhere. In order to do so, it will deplete other foods from these vitamins, or deplete the body tissues itself.

Eating white sugar and white flour is a lie to the body making it believe it is nourished when in fact no nutrients are present. It is creating and keeping a chronic cellular starvation. It is merely existing rather than living.

Flour93% of the totality of nutrients necessary to the digestion and assimilation of sugar cane are destroyed during its processing.
During wheat processing, 90% of all vitamin A is stripped away, 77% of vit B1, 80% of the B2, 81% of the B3, 60% of the calcium, 86% of the vitamin E, 76% iron gone, 85% magnesium gone, 77% potassium gone etc. 2/3 of the wheat proteins are gone as well as half of its natural fats (source: "Le Mal du Sucre" by Daniele Starenkyj, editions Orion, Canada, 1999). White flour is a joke.

But the tragedy doesn't stop here. Not only these processed sugars do not have any nutrients left but they don't have any fibers left neither. Without the fibers, the glucose is directly absorbed into the blood stream, nothing can stop it. The blood sugar level skyrocket and cause the pancreas to secrete insulin to compensate for the excess blood sugar. Shortly after eating a high-sugar meal or a snack, the blood sugar level drops below normal. This state is called hypoglycemia. Symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can range anywhere from headaches, irritability and shaking when hungry to sudden anger, panic attacks, or crying easily for no apparent reason. Not only can sugar affect the quality of your day but it can also make you sick. Many studies have shown that sugar is very effective in weakening the immune system and is a source of fuel for feeding cancer and tumors.

WheatFibers are the physiological barrier to overeating because they take space in the stomach and in the intestines. To give a concrete example, to eat in a natural form the quantity of what a North American eats in only one day, you'd have to ingest more than a kilogram of sugar beets or 20 apples. Processed sugar is swallowed without even being noticed. Fruits and natural grains have elements that regulate the appetite and avoid overeating. The satiety signals are always working in this case whereas they can't work with processed sugars.

The workload of the pancreas is incredible, in quantity and speed, all this processed sugars arrive too fast and in too much quantity. So we understand why the pancreas weakens after working like this for years. When all these sugars arrive in the small intestine, without the fibers, same thing, the glucose is immediately absorbed into the blood stream. And when finally, what's left of the sugar arrives in the colon, once again, without fibers, it stagnates, it is impossible to normally eliminate it. This situation induces many problems from constipation to diverticulitis and is one of the main factors in colon cancer.

Don't even think at using artificial sweeteners instead. As the word artificial indicates, they are toxics, period. The sugar substitute Aspartame (or Nutrasweet or Equal) is associated with cancer, weight gain, increased cravings for sweets, impaired coordination, decreased mental function, diabetes, MS, Parkinson's, seizures and migraine headaches. 85% of all complaints to the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) concern aspartame. But unfortunately, the powerful diet industry worth trillions of dollars want to protect profits by keeping the truth about aspartames dangers. So you won't hear about it a lot. And you may think that artificial sweeteners do not affect blood sugar, but they do. And they contribute to sweet cravings as well.

Agave ExtractionHoneyLuckily, there are alternatives to aspartame. The best sweeteners to use are those that occur naturally such as agave nectar (a syrup that comes from the plant Agave, delicious and very subtle). Stevia, an herb that is much sweeter than sugar but, like Agave nectar, does not affect blood sugar levels. Those two are definitely my favorite choices. There is also raw cane sugar (Rapadura), pure maple syrup, raw honey or molasses. I use dried fruits in a lot of recipes as well.

Consequences on your Health

The worst consequence is diabetes. You will find below a few scary numbers of the situation in Australia, in the US and in France.

  1. DiabetesDiabetes in Australia: it is the fastest growing chronic disease, an estimated 2 million Australians have pre-diabetes, one person is diagnosed every seven minutes, more than 825,000 Australians are officially diagnosed with diabetes. For every one diagnosed, excluding those with type 1 diabetes- another is undiagnosed = 1.5million. By 2012, Diabetes Australia-NSW expects the number of people with diabetes to total 4 million, the total number of people with diabetes and pre-diabetes is 3.2 million. Source: Diabetes Australia-NSW.

  2. Diabetes in the US: Total: 20.8 million people, 7 percent of the population, have diabetes. Diagnosed: 14.6 million people. Undiagnosed: 6.2 million people. About 176,500 people aged 20 years or younger have diabetes. This group represents 0.22 percent of all people in this age group. About one in every 400 to 600 children and adolescents has type 1 diabetes. Source: National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse.

  3. Diabetes in France: more than 3% of the population have diabetes, 11% are 65 years old and more. The estimates are a 3% raise each year. In 2016, there will be approx. 1 million more diabetics in France than in 1999. Source: Institut de Veille Sanitaire.

Other Health Concerns:

  1. Hepatic dysfunction: it can go as far as cirrhosis because the metabolism of glucose induces alcoholic residues in the small intestine. The liver filters these residues.

  2. Obesity: too much sugar is transformed into body fat.

  3. Excess sugar is the principal cause of an overproduction of mucus, cause of pulmonary problems, acne, and bad digestion. Too much mucus is heaven land for bacteria to develop.

  4. Sugar eaten at the end of a meal prevents good digestion, (one exception is cooked fruits).

  5. Excess sugar induces problems of anxiety and concentration among children. Refined sugars and its vitamins' deficiency weaken the nervous system.

  6. Intestinal problems: constipation; candidiosis and candida albicans love sugars.

  7. Sugars weaken the immune system.

This is not an exhaustive list of the health problems. My point here is to show you some of the dangers of eating refined sugars.

 

If you are Addicted to Sugar...

  1. Stop your consumption of refined sugar. Read the labels and you'll be surprised.

  2. Consult a glycemic index table (a good one is available on line at http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/76/1/5#T1) and go for the foods under 70.

  3. Eat whole foods from your health food store or farmers' market. These foods contain all the vitamins and minerals necessary to their digestion and assimilation.

  4. Increase your consumption of fibers, especially vegetables. They favor intestinal cleansing.

  5. Decrease your consumption of coffee and alcohol because they keep you in the vicious circle (read on to know more about the vicious circle).

  6. Stop drinking sodas, even diet sodas.

  7. Don't miss a meal and add snacks to your diet. You need to keep this blood sugar level in check and this is the way to do it.

  8. Exercise and breathe!

Instead of Supressing all Sugars ...

Stop refined sugars and replace them by healthy alternatives.

Start by replacing the white or brown (the false one) sugar with Agave nectar and stevia. Replace jams with fruit spreads no sugar added. Replace regular milk chocolate bars with dark chocolate at 70% minimum cacao. You can also go for the raw cacao powder or nibs (available at www.rawpower.com.au). If you are used to buy your cookies at the store, buy organic cookies fruit juices sweetened. Use Stevia, Agave nectar, and honey.

 

Grains

Replace refined white flour products with whole grains organic products. Try the wonderful protein-rich quinoa, buckwheat (both are gluten-free). Replace instant porridge with organic whole rolled oats and you will definitely feel the difference in your body. Try a sprouted whole wheat bread bought at your local health food store or at the farmer's market. By adding whole grains to your diet, your will give a rest to your pancreas by stabilizing your blood sugar levels. You'll feel less tired and you'll have more energy to finish the day.

 

 

Sugar Consumption: The Vicious Circle

The chart below describes the usual pattern of someone having the standard breakfast made of a muffin for example (white flour, white sugar) or some bread (white bread or whole wheat which is not whole) with butter, jam (packed with refined sugar) and coffee.

Two hours later, everyday, he doesn't really feel well, a little anxious, tired for sure, a little dizzy even. So he grabs a cereal bar and a coffee or a soda maybe. Two hours later, he'll do the same thing etc. The vicious circle is on. He goes from a state of hypo to hyperglycemia most of the time. Each time he chooses something to eat, he'll go for a food rich in refined sugars, he's looking for the energy surge, he feels soooo tired. When this pattern goes on for years, the pancreas will start to malfunction. The pancreas is the one in charge of producing insulin which is the hormone necessary to distribute sugar to the body cells thus decreasing the blood sugar levels. The weakened and tired pancreas will start either to produce less insulin or the cells membranes will become resistant to insulin (called type 2 diabetes; in type 1 diabetes, the pancreas does not produce any insulin).

sugar consumption

In need of a boost! Quick! Cereals, chocolate bars, coffee (and a cigarette)!!!
The sugar goes immediately into the blood stream inducing an energy surge, which in fact is hyperglycemia. The two other bad friends, coffee and cigarettes can also help with energy. They stimulate the adrenal glands, which release adrenaline. Its friend, the glucagon, produced by the pancreas, is in charge of releasing sugar into the blood and he'll do his job no matter what. If the liver has glycogen stock, he'll release it. If not, he'll make sugar from fats or proteins found in the muscles. The battle seems over. But not really. The body has a very good self-regulatory system. When the blood sugar level is too high, the insulin lowers it by distributing the sugar to the hungry cells. The problem is that this hormone is zealous. The higher the hyperglycemia, the lower the hypoglycemia and with it, fatigue, malaise, hunger. Another high processed sugary food item with a pop soda or coffee and the merry-go-around vicious circle continues.

 

Source: Objectif: Notre Santé magazine, Association pour le Developpement de la Naturopathie, #5, Fall 2000.