So what exactly is the problem with sugar? That's a question I've been getting a lot these days, especially around the holidays when it's so abundant in our treats.
I can't cover everything in one post, but I'll touch on the basics just to pique your interest. Balancing blood sugar is key to health for lots of different reasons, and here are some of them.
There are eight key physiological results of sugar consumption, that include mineral depletion, immune repression, blood sugar imbalance, impaired brain function, inflammation, cholesterol problems and heart disease, yeast overgrowth, and teeth and gum problems. I'll probably have to do 8 different posts because otherwise, I'd lose you at "hello." :)
Let’s start with mineral depletion in the body. When we talk about mineral depletion, we are addressing the effects of refined foods but most particularly the consequences of eating sucrose or table sugar—the white stuff. Mineral depletion is the aftermath of the refining process.
Refined sugars contain NO fiber, NO minerals, NO proteins, NO fats, NO enzymes...only empty calories. To make white sugar, sugar cane is refined and bleached and all the nutrients and minerals are removed. It’s bad enough that we are eating empty calories when we consume sugar, but what’s worse is your body has to BORROW vital nutrients—calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, thiamine, chromium, and zinc from healthy cells to metabolize that processed sugar. That’s a crime, it's stealing. The body has to draw on its own reserves in order to do the biochemical breakdown of that sugar.
When sugar depletes our own supply of valuable minerals, it can result in serious health consequences like osteoporosis, arthritis, and a host of other mineral deficient symptoms such as leg cramps, muscle tightness or spasm, low blood sugar, diabetes, low blood pressure, premenstrual syndrome, lower back pain, learning disabilities, ADD, depression, asthma, and many more.
Bottom-line, really what this means is that if you routinely eat sugar, there is no amount of supplementation or dietary support that will allow you to keep up with your mineral losses.
Want to know more about healthy sweeteners and how to decrease your sugar intake? Ask me!