Remember the book, “The Shangri La Diet”, which came out a couple of years ago and created quite a bit of buzz in the health and fitness community? I bought a copy. In the book, the author espoused drinking a 16 oz glass of water, several times per day with a teaspoon of Light Olive Oil in it, or a teaspoon of sugar.
According to the author, this was supposed to make us less hungry and therefore lose weight. The book sold millions of copies. I doubt seriously anyone still follows this plan.
The correct answer to the following question will shock you.
Would you survive longer on a diet of just water OR on a diet of water and refined sugar?
The answer: You would survive longer on just water.
“Steve, you’ve lost it boy! You’re just crazy!”
Really? Let’s look at five sailors who were ship wrecked in 1793.
The ship was filled with refined sugar and therefore allowed the marooned five a diet of sugar and water. Nine days after being marooned, they were finally rescued and were found to be in a wasted condition due to starvation.
The French physiologist Francois Magendie heard the story of the five sailors, grew intrigued by it and began to conduct a series of experiments in which he fed dogs a diet of sugar. All of the dogs died.
With this study Magendie proved that as a steady diet, refined sugar is worse than nothing.
“Wait a minute, bro…how can sugar be worse than nothing?”
Apparently and quite obviously based on this research, refined sugar is an anti-nutrient.
What starts life as sugar cane, goes through an extensive refining process that destroys all of the enzymes, fiber, vitamins and minerals. What we're left with are empty, naked and deadly calories.
Here’s the kicker: our bodies require the enzymes, fiber, vitamins and minerals that were taken out in the refining process in order to metabolize sugar and use it as energy. Since refining doesn’t leave any, those nutrients are taken from your own body to complete the process.
(This would make a great horror story: “The Thing that Leaches the Body Dry!”)
Think about it…while you are enjoying that chocolate bar, sugar is sucking vital nutrients from your body. Kind of like a sugar tick. Yumm!
And it doesn't end there…
- Sugar produces false hunger which makes you overeat. This is a result of the insulin rush and then ensuing plummet in your blood sugar levels. What happens then is a constant struggle with your weight where you never seem to achieve your ideal size.
- Sugar advances aging. This is caused by advanced glycation end products, or AGEs, that occur when insulin levels are consistently elevated as a result of eating too much sugar. Sugar, by some, is called “the negative fountain of youth.”
- Sugar weakens your bones. This makes you vulnerable to osteoporosis, and weakens your teeth, which increases the likelihood of cavities, both due to the calcium being pulled from your bones and teeth in order for your body to process sugar.
- Sugar in excess is stored as fat. In my humble opinion, all sugar is excess…but that’s me, the rebel. You see, after your liver has no more room to store it, sugar is converted to fat and deposited on your belly, thighs, hips and the backs of your arms. Wheee!
- Sugar can inhibit and impair brain functioning. This is a result of depleted B-vitamin production.
Still need more reasons to avoid the sugar? O.K….
Here are some more maladies tied to sugar and overconsumption: varicose veins, constipation, hormonal imbalances, ADD and ADHD, increased emotional instability, depressed immune system, increased risk of cancer and degenerative diseases.
On average, people consume 46 teaspoons of sugar every day. That equals something like 175 pounds of sugar each year. 175 POUNDS!
Why doesn’t this surprise me? Look at all of the ads for sugary drinks and sodas! It’s big business. These companies sneak sugar into any product that they can.
Right now, go through the foods in your home and you'll see that sugar has been added to everything from ketchup and spaghetti sauce to crackers, oatmeal, peanut butter and even ‘healthy' items like weight loss bars.
“So, where does this leave me, Uncle Steve?”
Well my friend, you may be in unchartered waters for the first time in your life. It’s what we call “a unique position.” As one of my favorite authors, Dr. Edwin Louis Cole, wrote years ago in his wonderful book, “Treasure”, “We each have the power to choose, but once the choice is made we become a servant to that choice. To what are you willing to become a servant?”
Your personal judgment and preference will determine the foods that you eat and the foods that you avoid. It is my sincere wish that you now see sugar with “fresh” eyes.
It is true that all other foods offer you caloric energy as well as some nutritional benefit. Sugar does not. It has, for all intents and purposes, no redeeming qualities. Sugar is simply caloric energy with a sweet habit forming taste, and a hoard of health risks. In the book “Ortho-Molecular Nutrition” the authors demonstrate, rather convincingly, that sugar is more addictive than cocaine. Studies have shown that babies, when given a choice of a variety of foods, will eat from various foods to obtain all the nutrition they need. But when a sugary food is introduced, they no longer choose from the other sources and eat the sugary choice exclusively.
I beg you, use your discernment wisely and eliminate, or strictly limit your sugar consumption, both for yourself and your children. You’ll do yourself and them a huge favor in low sugar living.
And one more thing, should you ever find yourself ship wrecked with nothing more than sugar and water for consumption…go for the water and throw the sugar overboard.
Various Names for Sugar
Next time you’re at the store shopping and want to make sure you purchase the best for your family, remember these names and then put the item back should you see it in the ingredient list:
- Sucrose
- High fructose corn syrup
- Fructose
- Lactose
- Organic sugar
- Maltose
- Dextrose
- Glucose
Steve
