Poison Me With Sugar
Many a times, I have come across
diabetics with high sugar levels. When questioned about their diet and lifestyle,
they give me the stereotypical answer: ‘I am eating very healthy home food
only. I don’t eat rice, sweets, potatoes or non veg.’ And they even go for
regular walks. Some say that they are eating only light vegetarian food. So,
non-vegetarian food is seen as the culprit!
Many have given up meat entirely only
to have their cholesterol levels increase and their sugars and Cardio Vascular
disease increase rapidly. So what is going wrong then, if they are also regular
with their medication?
Eating Right..Eating Wrong
By now, I know that they are eating some
wrong foods or the right foods in the wrong quantities and at the wrong time,
unknowingly. Result - Their food is releasing
large amounts of sugar which is spiking their blood sugar and increasing their
triglycerides and LDL.
Once, an overweight, diabetic man in
his early 50s came for a diet consultation. He claimed that he controlled his
food intake but still wasn't losing weight. Nor was his blood sugar under control.
Of course, he hadn't been working out for some time. When I went through his
diet, it seemed to be okay, that’s if he was eating exactly the way he told me.
A little more probing, and I realized the problem was his Coffee Mate which has
been his regular morning fixation for 30 years.
It is said
that our ancestors ate better than we do today. That’s why our digestive system
has evolved so much. Refining and processing most of what we eat has been an
unfortunate nutritional disservice, particularly the introduction of refined
sugar. Eating, in general, has caused our health to deteriorate markedly.
Sugar falls in three categories:
Overt sugar
Covert sugar
Foods that behave like sugar
These are the obvious ones like table sugar, raw sugar, honey, jaggery, molasses
and treacle.
A word of caution! Most people know
that table sugar is bad, so weight watchers, diabetics and those with high
cholesterol and triglycerides avoid or limit its consumption. But they are
under the impression that the natural forms of sugar - raw sugar, honey, jaggery
and molasses, are safe. One has to remember that these are ultimately sugars
and though they come without the negative effects of refined sugar and some benefits
too, they will spike the blood sugar. The same is true of natural sugars in
fruits, if taken in excess.
These are hidden sugars in processed and canned foods and sugar-free
products. On food labels, sugar is hidden under the word ‘carbohydrates’. ‘No
sugars’ simply means no ‘table sugar’ (sucrose). The hidden sugars have
different names - Sucralose, Saccharin, Aspartame, High Fructose Corn Syrup
(HFCS), Barley malt syrup, Dextrin, Glucose, Lactose, Levulose, Lite or Light
sugar, Maltrodextrin, Maltodextrose, Mannitol, Xylitol, Sorbitol, Maltitol,
Mannose, Nectars.
The above mentioned sugars are ‘Artificial
Sweeteners’ found in sugar-free chocolates and ice cream, frozen yoghurt, diet
coke, soft drinks, fruit juices, pancake syrup, readymade soups, ketchup,
breakfast cereals and other processed foods. Taken in excess, they stimulate false
sense of hunger, drop in blood sugar which stimulates appetite and leads to weight
gain. They also lead to sugar cravings. A large number of sugar addicts are
dependent on sugar-free products.
I was amused when a so-called fitness
management centre celebrated their anniversary guilt-free by gorging on sugar-free
chocolate cake and even displayed it on their FB status update with great pride.
Say ‘No’
Recently, I met a diabetic who
wondered why his sugar levels had shot up drastically despite the fact that he
was off sugar, rice and the usual suspects. He quickly added that he was having
lots of homemade sweets made with artificial sweeteners. Is it any surprise
that his appetite had increased causing his sugar level to spiral out of
control?
Another diabetic wondered why his
weight and blood sugars had increased in the last four weeks. He had even started
drinking green tea but quickly added that he ate five to six multi-grain
biscuits with his green tea. I knew where he had gone wrong. I asked him to
check the label; it would definitely have some form of sugar. He called back to
say that it said, ‘Added Sugars’. It’s important to read food labels carefully.
Deadly Sugars
The worst of the Artificial Sweeteners is Aspartame and High Fructose
Corn Syrup (HFCS).
Aspartame in large enough amounts:
Can damage your DNA
Memory loss
Depression
Abnormal brain function and brain
damage
Vision problems
Brain tumors
Insomnia
High Fructose Corn Syrup
It is a man-made sweetener that is
cheaper and sweeter than sugar and is made from genetically modified corn.
It shuts off your body’s natural
appetite control switches. It makes a person gain weight
The body doesn’t use fructose as an
immediate source of energy; it is stored as fat
Liver tumors
DNA damage
Inflammation
Altered cellular metabolism
Increased production of free radicals
Pancreatic cancer
Foods that behave like sugar
They are processed, and when eaten,
rush into the blood and cause havoc. Rice, bread, sweet corn, white flour,
beer, alcohol, mixers for drinks and processed grains are some examples.
Recently, a female patient with very
high cholesterol and triglycerides was furious when I asked her to cut out rice
from her diet. Her argument was – I am a south Indian, I cannot live without
rice. And I’m not diabetic! So why should I stop eating rice!’ Two valid
reasons according to her, but extremely foolish, according to me. She walked
out of my cabin in anger.
Cholesterol-free
One
of the biggest deceptions of the food industry is advertising that a food is
cholesterol or fat-free. This is a meaningless claim if the food has a lot of
sugar, usually added for taste. While your body converts sugar to fat, eating
sugar or fat has the same result - triglycerides will jump and then LDLs will
rise. People usually eat double or triple their normal servings of fat-free
foods because they don’t have to worry about the fat content.
It's important to look at the lines on the
labels that identify sugars, particularly when examining fat-free foods. Don’t
get taken in by the banner across the package that screams cholesterol-free or
fat-free.
Sugar Is Poison
Diabetes
and other diseases grew as consumption of refined sugars grew. Excess sugar eventually affects
every organ of the body. The human body cannot handle man-made sugar.
Refined sugar in significant quantity is toxic to human bodies:
It evokes a brain chemical Beta-endorphin,
the same chemical evoked by
alcohol or heroin. It can cause the same chemical and mood effects in the body
but on a less intense level, as some of the most addictive substances in the
world. Beta-endorphin produces a sense of well-being, reduces pain, eases
emotional distress, increases self-esteem, and even creates a sense of euphoria.
That’s the reason chocolate or sweets become comfort food for many.
It also leads to obesity,
particularly central obesity (too much fat in the belly region). This could
lead to Insulin Resistance which may eventually lead to diabetes
It
makes the blood acidic. Calcium is drawn from bones and teeth to rectify the pH
of blood
The
small intestine becomes inactive and paralyzed.
A
sugar-rich diet increases both stomach acidity and digestive acidity of the
gastric juices, the sort one finds in those with duodenal ulcers.
Sugars,
natural or refined, affect digestion
Cut sugar to
Trim body fat
Lose weight
Lower your cholesterol
Lower triglycerides
Achieve optimal wellness
Increase your energy
Prevent diabetes and related diseases
Help treat diabetes and related
diseases
Find out if you are a sugar addict:
Have you ever tried to cut down or
control your use of sweet foods?
Are you using more sweet foods than
ever before?
Do you get irritable if you do not
have your regular dose of sugar?
Have you ever gotten upset when
someone ate your special ‘sweet food?
Have you ever lied about how much
sweet food you eat?
Have you ever gone out of your way to
get something sweet?
Have you ever binged?
Have you ever crawled through the
morning with a headache that is immediately relieved when you have something
sweet?
Is it impossible to just say no to
sweet foods?
Is sugar controlling your life?
Try to eliminate sugar from your diet
Eliminate sugary drinks, granola bars
and energy bars
Avoid refined carbs and reduce
complex carbs
Avoid canned and processed food
Avoid ‘low-fat’ and sugar-free
foods…have smaller portions of the regular versions
Read food labels carefully
Make some changes in your diet
• Reduce the sugar you add to tea and
coffee
• Reduce the sugar in recipes..add
spices to boost flavour and taste
• Use healthy sugar substitutes –
jaggery, molasses, pure honey
• Balance your
carbohydrate intake with lean protein to control cravings
Steps To Sugar Detox
• Eat breakfast with proteins
• Journal what you eat and how you feel
• Eat at least three meals a day with
proteins
• Take the recommended vitamins
• Shift from white to brown foods
• Reduce or eliminate sugars
For more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYuRayNBVK4
