What is Sugar?

The next few upcoming posts will be an important series of vital information that we all need to know and understand. 

I've always wondered if people really know what sugar is and how it affects our body! Have you ever wondered what refined sugar is or the difference between cane and artificial sweeteners? I'm going to peel apart sugar and the effects it has on our bodies in two posts!

Today, Refined Sugar.

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. Here are a few examples:  

*added sugar is high in fructose which can overload your liver causing non alcoholic liver disease

*sugar can cause insulin resistance, a stepping stone towards metabolic syndrome and diabetes

*insulin resistance can progress into type 2 diabetes

*due to the effects sugar has on the brain,  sugar has unique fat promoting effects

*sugar is highly addictive

*sugar is the leading cause in obesity in children and adults

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.

Did you read that? Bleached with cattle bones!!!!

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.

Here are a few startling facts to keep in mind:

*one can of soda a day equals 50lbs of sugar a year
*if you drank one can of soda a day you would gain 14.6 pounds in a year

I think one of our biggest problems is our knowledge on the food we eat!  We have to be informed before we intake!!  Just because the stores sell it doesn't mean we should consume it!!! Read, study, ask about your food!!! Know what you're putting in your body!!!!

Macrobiotics.co.uk
12-1-3