A few weeks ago, ok I guess its months now Bernice challenged me to write about Sugar after I gave her a long lecture on why not to eat it. I guess lecturing is easy actually writing it down so it does not sound like a moan has been proving pretty hard for me. There are hundreds of reasons why sugar is bad for you and I could go on about it all day but I thought if someone really wants to change thier life then five should be enough to stimmulate the process of change. Ok so here it goes:
Sugar is a drug. It is one of the most addictive substances out there. You may not realise it but just a small ammount has you craving for more. Just like alcohol and tobacco your body craves the rush it gets from sugar. If you regularly eat sweet stuff and this includes lots of fruit (yes excessive fruit sugar also has its downside) you are probably an addict. Just try not eating anything sweet at all for two days and see how your body react. Just like with drugs alot of people get the shakes, feeling slightly weak, nausea, fatigue etc. I know I am an addict. I often say just this once or I don't eat that much sugar and before I know it every meal I eat has some thing a little sweet in it or after it.
More people die from sugar related deaseases every year than anything else. I studied diabetes in University and my proffessor likened being sick with diabetes to having HIV. Ok you cannot spread diabetes through bodily fluids but the outcome is very similar. Chances are you will die from a diabetes related deasease. My Grandfather died from diabetes related illnesses (stroke + cancer). My greatgrandmother also died from diabetes related illnesses and for about 15 years before she died she was blind and had both legs amputated due to diabetes. It will wear you down mentally and physically and eventually weaken your immune system to other diseas. Sugar related illnesses include diabetes, ulcers, strokes, heart attack, yeast infections, high cholesterol. Why would you want to have any of those?
Parasites in your body thrive on sugar. What happens to your teeth when you eat too much sugar also happens inside your body, the only difference is that you usually cannot see past your throat so you often don't even know what is happenening. The way your teeth rot is the same way your insides rot. Parasites need sugar and the acid produced from the digestion of sugar to live. These organisms in turn produce more acid and secrete hormones which mimic the bodies sugar craving hormones. So sometimes it is not you craving sugar, it is the stuff living inside you. Have you ever noticed that people who eat alot of green and hardly any sugar do not get ill very often? This is because, even if they come in contact with them, parasites cannot survive inside the hosts body as there is is nothing feeding them. So especially with it being colder this time of year why not avoid getting sick with the flu 3-4 times by simply cutting out sugar and eating more green foods.
Sugar is like a thief in the night. It robs your body of calcium and magnesium. An important companent of teeth and bones. To digest sugar you need calcium and magnesium. Most refined sugar however has been stripped of these minerals during processing. When its time for digestion your body goes looking somewhere else for these minerals to help it out. The most common place to get this from is your bones and teeth. If you are not replacing all this lost calcium and magnesium by eating plenty of green leafy vegetables your bones will eventually become brittle and oesteporosis sets in.
Finally I know the dangers of the overconsumtion of sugar and I am doing my best to provide a good example for my son. I don't want to preach one thing to him and do another. I try to lead by example which isn't always easy but I do sleep better at night knowing that he is growing dense strong bones rather than hollow brittle ones. It will be more difficult saying no to him once he knows the taste of sweetness. So far no he does not know what refined sugar tastes like. We tend to have a piece of fruit in the morning but our other two meals are packed full of green leafy vegetables, pulses and some root vegetables. His favourite meals are Okra (full of calcium) and seaweed rice soup. I would rather he had these two in his meal plan every day than having a cookie once a week.
Cutting out sugar alone is just one part of the process in reclaiming your health. But it is a pretty big part and I promise you will notice the difference.
I hope this has made you curious to find out more.
For more information on why not to eat sugar read:
The PH Miracle: Balance Your Diet, Reclaim Your Health By Robert O. Young
Or just google the dangers of sugar.
Alexa
