5 Reasons to Stay Away from Sugar
Did you know? Sugar often sneaks its way into your diet through drinks like juice or sodas.
Over two-thirds of our American population is overweight and that number is only rising. The Western diet, also known Standard American Diet, has the acronym SAD, and all for the right reasons. The SAD Diet is characterized by consumption of high sugar, highly processed, low nutrient foods that wreck havoc on our total health and well-being. In fact, many of these foods aren’t actually food…they are better described as “food products”.
Sugar is an increasingly common ingredient in the food we eat, even ones that aren’t deemed “sweet”. It comes in many forms/names and “hidden” in products like bread, cereals, condiments and more. In fact, many of us eat the equivalent of 53 heaping teaspoons of white sugar every day!
A diet high in sugar has been linked to increasing your risk of all major diseases such as diabetes, cancer, stroke, cardiovascular problems and more.
Health Problems associated with the SAD diet also include:
- Digestive Issues
- Mood Disorders
- Hormonal Imbalances
- High Blood Pressure
- Metabolic Syndrome
- Chronic Inflammation
Experts agree that reducing sugar intake is essential for improving and maintaining one’s health!!
How does a high-sugar diet affect our Health?
Here are just some examples of what sugar does in the body:
- Sugar causes the body to release more adrenaline, which has been linked to hyperactivity in young children.
- Ingesting sugar makes the pancreas work harder to produce insulin. Diabetes results when the overworked pancreas can no longer eliminate sugar from the bloodstream.
- Sugar increases mood swings, irritability and anxiety. If you’re already an anxious or stressed person, sugar won’t make your life any easier, but a visit to our practice might.
- Sugar has been known to compromise the immune system because it lowers the efficiency of white blood cells for a minimum of five hours.
- Eating sugar can decrease helpful high-density cholesterol (HDLs) and result in an increase in harmful cholesterol (LDLs).
Healthier Choices
Our Tips on Reducing your Sugar Intake:
- Eliminate (or at least cut back on) Processed Foods. Packaged foods are usually loaded with sugars to preserve them & enhance flavor. Avoid all obvious offenders such as candies, cookies, cakes, pastries or desserts. Be cautious of hidden offender foods such as breads, pastas, condiments etc. Even “health food” products like snack bars or dried fruit are loaded with sugars!
- Read Labels. Sugar is not always labeled as “sugar” as the food industry has gotten sneaky with their labeling. Other labeling might include: high fructose corn syrup, cane syrup, cane sugar, sucrose, rice syrup etc. There are over 50 different names for sugar!
- Eat Real Food. A diet full of vegetables, protein and healthy fats, is naturally low in sugar!
Need to sweeten your food?
Use all natural real-food sweeteners such as erythritol, organic Stevia leaf or monk fruit. Other real food options include organic maple syrup, raw honey or dates. Applesauce or pumpkin are also great alternatives when baking!
Beware of the fake artificial sweeteners such as Splenda or Aspartame: they are in fact JUST as damaging to your health as real sugar.
Above all, we should all aim to eat a diet low in sugar and high in nutrient-dense, quality real foods. Proper nutrition is essential for a healthy nervous system, total body and overall health.
Let us Help You Thrive
Come visit our office for more ways we can help you improve your health from the inside out. Our office is known for helping patients deal with the effects of stress on the body. Contact us at 440-639-1100 with your questions on how we can help you!