The Danger of Sugars and Where They're Hidden
Americans have a serious sugar addiction. The worst part is that we don’t even realize the horrific amounts we consume and how it is destroying every part of our lives.
Right now many Americans consume a cup of sugar every day. That has doubled in the last 100 years. Almost everything we put in our mouths contains sugar, including foods that we think are healthy. We may feel good about ourselves when we eat a food with whole grain, for example, or something with calcium or Vitamin C, not realizing it is also super-charged with sugar. The manufacturers don't advertise that fact on the label.
Food manufacturers don't want you to know the bad things about their foods. So in a sense, that sugar is hidden, even though it is, by law, on the Nutrition Facts and in the list of ingredients. You have to look for it.
So what's so bad about sugar, anyway? Why all the fuss?
First, sugar is a highly addictive substance. In fact, scientists discovered it’s as addictive as cocaine! Brain scans reveal the pleasure and reward centers light-up in the exact same way when people consume cocaine as they do sugar.
Furthermore, we become a slave to sugar. It puts us literally in bondage, both physically and emotionally. When we eat sugar, it raises our blood sugar level, which causes insulin to be released. This is what we call a "sugar high" followed by a "sugar crash."
That sugar crash causes us to crave more sugar, and so the cycle continues. That's the physical component.
The emotional aspect is that sugar affects our mood the same way. We’re energetic, then lethargic. We're not ourselves. Sugar controls our behavior…the way we work and relate to others.
Sugar has been linked to some deadly health problems like cancer and heart disease. Researchers tell us that cancer cells thrive on sugar. Sugar "feeds" cancer cells. Many doctors tell their patients to abstain from sugar because this literally starves cancer cells.
I have witnessed patients who have taken that advice and their cancer has not returned. One man had such severe bone cancer he was only given months to live. In desperation, he cut-out all types of sugar and is still alive and kickin' years later.
Sugar is now considered to be the true cause of heart disease. Many doctors say it's sugar, not cholesterol, that destroys our arteries.
Sugar causes inflammation, obesity, and weakens our immune system, putting us at risk for dozens of health problems, such as arthritis, high blood pressure, even the common cold and the flu.
So how do we get rid of sugar? Obviously, we stop eating desserts like ice cream, cake, cookies, and candy. But that's only part of the problem. We have to tackle those hidden sugars in places you’d never suspect.
Low-fat and fat-free foods have very high amounts of sugar, because when you take the fat out of something, you are either left with just concentrated sugar, or you add sugar to what remains to give it the flavor that's missing because the fat is gone.
Skim milk actually contains a surprising amount of sugar, just like lots of other dairy products such as fat-free cream cheese. Certain fat-free yogurts contain as much sugar as one-and-a-half ice cream cones. Many fat-free salad dressings are one-third sugar.
Products that boast "fruit" and "juice" or "no sugar added" on the labels are perhaps the biggest scam. People think if they see those words, a product is healthy. Not true! They contain highly concentrated fructose, which is arguably even worse than straight-up sugar!
Food manufacturers take actual fruit, which is good for us, but they take out the best parts, the nutrients and the fiber. What's left is the super-sweet fructose in highly concentrated forms.
This is what you find in all those juices, fruit leathers, fruit snacks and so-forth. Parents think they are giving their kids healthy foods, when they might as well be giving them candy. The same thing goes for dried fruits, too, the raisins, dried cranberries, pineapples, and so on.
Refined carbohydrates are often a huge source of sugar. These are the white breads, bagels, pizza crust, pretzels, pita chips, tortillas, white flour, white pasta, crackers and so forth.
Even though these foods do not taste sweet, when you eat them, your body responds to them just like you ate pure sugar. That's because they are made with grains that have been stripped of the fiber and nutrients, so what remains is pure starch, which your body reads as pure sugar.
Be careful when switching to whole grains, because even though these are better than the refined carbohydrates, whole grain foods are often loaded with added sugar. For example, two slices of whole wheat bread can contain the equivalent of six teaspoons of sugar.
Foods that appear healthy, such as instant oatmeal, often contain lots of added sugar. One pack of it can contain 12 grams of sugar. If you want oatmeal, the slow-cook oats, which have just one gram of sugar per serving are better.
Protein shakes and bars as well as lots of healthy-sounding breakfast foods like muffins are too frequently jam-packed with as much sugar as a hot fudge sundae.
If you're confused about a food's sugar content, look at the "Nutrition Facts" label and go to the "Sugars" line. Aim for two grams or less. Get ready to be shocked at how high some of those numbers go. Recently I saw a protein shake with 44 grams of sugar!
Another great resource is the book, J.J. Virgin’s Sugar Impact Diet. She divides foods into high, medium and low sugar impact, to help you decide what’s best. For instance, a white potato is high, a sweet potato is medium, and pumpkin is low.
White rice is high, brown rice is medium, and wild rice is low. Pasta sauce with sugar added is high, pasta sauce with no sugar added is medium, and crushed tomatoes with olive oil and basil is low.