Sugar- It's Effects on the Body & Mind

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Misty L. Trepke

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SUGAR-IT'S EFFECTS ON THE BODY & MIND

 

http://www.macrobiotics.co.uk/sugar.htm

 

Of all the foods consumed today, refined sugar is considered to be

one of the most harmful. ...In 1997 Americans devoured 7.3 billion

pounds of candy. Americans spent an estimated $23.1 billion dollars

on candy and gum. The average American consumed a record 27.3 pounds

of candy and gum in the same year-the equivalent of about six

regular sized chocolate bars a week-marking the fifth consecutive

year of increased demand. (1)

 

....Consumption of processed foods (which are laced with sugar) cost

the American public more than $54 billion in dental bills each year,

so the dental industry reaps huge profits from the programmed

addiction of the public to sugar products. ...Today we have a nation

that is addicted to sugar. In 1915, the national average of sugar

consumption (per year) was around 15 to 20 pounds per person. Today

the average person consumes his/her weight in sugar, plus over 20

pounds of corn syrup. To add more horrors to these facts there are

some people that use no sweets and some who use much less than the

average figure, which means that there is a percentage of the

population that consume a great deal more refined sugar than their

body weight. The human body cannot tolerate this large amount of

refined carbohydrates. The vital organs in the body are actually

damaged by this gross intake of sugar.

 

....Refined sugar contains no fiber, no minerals, no proteins, no

fats, no enzymes, only empty calories. What happens when you eat a

refined carbohydrate like sugar? Your body must borrow vital

nutrients from healthy cells to metabolize the incomplete food.

Calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium are taken from various parts

of the body to make use of the sugar.

 

Many times, so much calcium is used to neutralize the effects of

sugar that the bones become osteoporotic due to the withdrawn

calcium. Likewise, the teeth are affected and they lose their

components until decay occurs and hastens their loss. ...Refined

sugar is void of all nutrients, consequently it causes the body to

deplete its own stores of various vitamins, minerals and enzymes. If

sugar consumption is continued, an over-acid condition results, and

more minerals are needed from deep in the body to correct the

imbalance. If the body is lacking the nutrients used to metabolize

sugar, it will not be able to properly handle and rid itself of the

poisonous residues. These wastes accumulate through the brain and

nervous system, which speeds up cellular death. The bloodstream

becomes over-loaded with waste products and symptoms of carbonic

poisoning result.

 

....Sugar also makes the blood very thick and sticky, inhibiting much

of the blood flow into the minute capillaries that supply our gums

and teeth with vital nutrients. Therefore, we wind up with diseased

gums and starving teeth. America and England, the two largest sugar

consumers, have horrendous dental problems.

 

....In 1948, a $57,000 ten-year study was awarded to Harvard

University by the Sugar Research Foundation to find out how sugar

causes cavities in teeth and how to prevent it. In 1958, Time

magazine reported the findings, which were reported in the Dental

Association Journal. They discovered there was no way to prevent the

problem and their funding immediately disappeared.

 

.... " The most significant human study was done in Sweden, reported in

1954, and known as the Vipeholm Dental Caries Study. More than 400

adult mental patients were placed on controlled diets and observed

for five years. The subjects were divided into various groups. Some

ate complex and simple carbohydrates at mealtimes only, while other

supplemented mealtime food with between-meal-snacks, sweetened with

sucrose, chocolate, caramel, or toffee.

 

Among the conclusions drawn from the study, was that sucrose

consumption could increase caries activity. The risk increased if the

sucrose was consumed in a sticky form that adhered to the tooth's

surfaces. The greatest damage was inflicted by fidyl foods with high

concentrations of sucrose, in sticky form, eaten between meals, even

if contact with the tooth's surfaces was brief. Caries, due to the

intake of foods with high sucrose levels, could be decreased when

such offending foods were eliminated from the diet. But individual

differences existed, and in some cases, caries continued to appear

despite avoidance of refined sugar or maximum restriction of natural

sugars and total dietary carbohydrates. " (2)

 

....Diabetes is another commonly known disease caused by sugar as well

as a high fat diet. Diabetes is caused by the failure of the pancreas

to produce adequate insulin when the blood sugar rises. A

concentrated amount of sugar introduced into the system sends the

body into shock from the rapid rise in the blood sugar level. The

pancreas eventually wears out from overwork and diabetes then rears

its ugly head.

 

....Hypoglycemia occurs when the pancreas overreacts to the large

amount of sugar in the blood and releases too much insulin leaving

one with the " tired " feeling as the blood sugar level becomes lower

than it should be.

 

" A recent article in the British Medical Journal, entitled The Sweet

Road to Gallstones, reported that refined sugar may be one of the

major dietary risk factors in gallstone disease. Gallstones are

composed of fats and calcium. Sugar can upset all of the minerals,

and one of the minerals, calcium, can become toxic or

nonfunctioning, depositing itself anywhere in the body, including

the gallbladder.

 

.... " One out of ten Americans has gallstones. This risk increases to

one out of every five after age forty. Gallstones may go unnoticed or

may cause pain-wrenching pain. Other symptoms might include bloating,

belching, and intolerance to foods. " (3) ...Another serious problem

with sugar that is now coming to the forefront is the various levels

of mental problems. Our brains are very sensitive and react to quick

chemical changes within the body. As sugar is consumed, our cells are

robbed of their B vitamin, which destroys them, and insulin

production is inhibited. Low insulin production means a high sugar

(glucose) level in the bloodstream, which can lead to a confused

mental state or unsound mind, and has also been linked with juvenile

criminal behavior. Dr. Alexander G. Schauss, brings this solemn fact

out in his book, Diet, Crime and Delinquency. Many mental ward and

prison inmates are " sugarholics " and erratic emotional outbreaks

often follow a sugar binge.

 

REFINED SUGAR-A DRUG?

 

....Refined sugar, by some, is called a drug, because in the refining

process everything of food value has been removed except the

carbohydrates-pure calories, without vitamins, minerals, proteins,

fats, enzymes or any of the other elements that make up food. Many

nutrition experts say that white sugar is extremely harmful, possibly

as harmful as a drug, especially in the quantities consumed by the

present-day American.

 

....Dr. David Reuben, author of Everything You Always Wanted to Know

About Nutrition says, " .white refined sugar-is not a food. It is a

pure chemical extracted from plant sources, purer in fact than

cocaine, which it resembles in many ways. Its true name is sucrose

and its chemical formula is C12H22O11. It has 12 carbon atoms, 22

hydrogen atoms, 11 oxygen atoms, and absolutely nothing else to

offer. " ...The chemical formula for cocaine is C17H21NO4. Sugar's

formula again is C12H22O11. For all practical purposes, the

difference is that sugar is missing the " N " , or nitrogen atom.

 

....Refining means to make " pure " by a process of extraction or

separation. Sugars are refined by taking a natural food, which

contains a high percentage of sugar, and then removing all elements

of that food until only the sugar remains. ...While sugar is

commonly made from sugar cane or sugar beets. Through heating and

mechanical and chemical processing, all vitamins, minerals,

proteins, fats, enzymes and indeed every nutrient is removed until

only the sugar remains. Sugar cane and sugar beets are first

harvested and then chopped into small pieces, squeezing out the

juice, which is then mixed with water. This liquid is then heated,

and lime is added. Moisture is boiled away, and the remaining fluid

is pumped into vacuum pans to concentrate the juice. By this time,

the liquid is starting to crystallize, and is ready to be placed

into a centrifuge machine where any remaining residues (like

molasses) are spun away. The crystals are then dissolved by heating

to the boiling point and passed through charcoal filters. After the

crystals condense, they are bleached snow-white usually by the use

of pork or cattle bones. ...During the refining process, 64 food

elements are destroyed. All the potassium, magnesium, calcium,

iron, manganese, phosphate, and sulfate are removed. The A, D, and B,

vitamins are destroyed. Amino acids, vital enzymes, unsaturated

fats, and all fiber are gone.

 

To a lesser or greater degree, all refined sweeteners such as corn

syrup, maple syrup, etc., undergo similar destructive processes.

Molasses is the chemical and deranged nutrients that is a byproduct

of sugar manufacture.

 

....Sugar manufacturers are aggressive in defending their product and

have a strong political lobby which allows them to continue selling a

deadly food item that by all reason should not be allowed in the

American diet.

 

....If you have any doubts as to the detriments of sugar (sucrose),

try leaving it out of your diet for several weeks and see if it makes

a difference! You may also notice you have acquired an addiction and

experience some withdrawal symptoms. ...Studies show that " sugar " is

just as habit-forming as any narcotic; and its use, misuse, and abuse

is our nation's number one disaster. It is no wonder when we consider

all the products we consume daily which are loaded with sugar! The

average healthy digestive system can digest and eliminate from two to

four teaspoons of sugar daily, usually without noticeable problems,

(that is if damage is not already present). One 12 oz. Cola contains

11 teaspoons of sugar, and that's aside from the caffeine. It's the

sugar that gives you quick energy, but only for a brief time due to

the rise of the blood sugar level. But the body quickly releases a

rush of insulin, which rapidly lowers the blood sugar and causes a

significant drop in energy and endurance. It is easy to see why

America's health is in serious trouble.

 

EFFECT OF SUGAR ON NEUROLOGICAL PROCESSES

 

....One of the keys to orderly brain function is glutamic acid, and

this compound is found in many vegetables. When sugar is consumed,

the bacteria in the intestines, which manufacture B vitamin

complexes, begin to die-these bacteria normally thrive in a symbiotic

relationship with the human body. When the B vitamin complex level

declines, the glutamic acid (normally transformed into " go " " no-go "

directive neural enzymes by the B vitamins) is not processed and

sleepiness occurs, as well as a decreased ability for short-term

memory function and numerical calculative abilities. The removal of B

vitamins when foods are " processed " makes the situation even more

tenuous.

 

WHAT ABOUT GUM CHEWING?

 

....Besides the sugar in gum being damaging to the teeth there is

another harmful problem to consider and that is: " teeth and jaws

weren't designed for more than a few minutes of solid chewing per

day-far less than the two hours clocked in daily by hardcore gum

chewers. All this chewing results in inordinate wear on the jawbone,

gum tissue and lower molars, and can change the alignment of the

jaws " says Michael Elsohn, D.D.S., in the Medical Tribune.