Sugar is the substance that causes the most trauma for the body and mind than any other food. Our consumption is spiralling out of control and more damage can be done by switching to artificial sweeteners that are highly toxic to the body.  It is a recurrent theme in my practice - those who are able to address their daily addiction to sugar can make major improvements in their energy, mood and hormone balance and in doing so find sweetness in other aspects of their life.

When we are born we are naturally drawn to the sweet taste of breast milk and an aversion to bitterness.  A traditional Ayurvedic approach to meals emphasises the need to include one of the six tastes – sweet, salty, sour, bitter, astringent and spicy – to make a meal balanced. Overdoing the sweet taste by eating too much fruit, grains, starchy vegetables or milk sugar creates imbalances that affect all the organs of the body.

Insulin
Sugar from all sources but primarily processed white sugar is fuelling the epidemic called “diabesity” which has more long term health implications than the HIN1 virus.  Your body converts sugar and any other refined carbohydrate like white or brown bread, white rice and processed grains into glucose. The higher the glycemic index the quicker the spike in blood sugar. The poor overworked pancreas has to pump out insulin to enable the cells to take up the sugar. What is not used for energy is stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen. When that storage capacity in the liver is full insulin turns the sugar into fat in the form of triglycerides, one of the main causes of fatty liver.

As the cells gets progressively less sensitive to the insulin produced and can no longer metabolize the vast quantities of sugar, metabolic syndrome sets in. It is like internal global warming characterized by high blood pressure, cholesterol, insulin resistance and inflammation. Excess sugar in the blood sticks to haemoglobin and reduces its performance making the blood more viscous.  Excess insulin triggers inflammation the precursor to all ageing and degenerative diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver and arthritis.

Hormones
High insulin has a domino effect on many other hormones particularly those that regulate ovulation and testosterone increasing the risk of polycystic ovaries and acne. High sugar diets also profoundly affect the delicate balance of good bacteria in the gut. When beneficial microflora including lactobacillus and bifido bacteria are reduced, colonies of candida and other yeasts, fungi, viruses and bacteria flourish. Overgrowth of candida often goes hand in hand with constipation or diarrhea, and the possibility of urinary tract infections. Lack of good bacteria in the gut critically changes hormone pathways encouraging excess estrogens to be recirculated in the body rather than excreted.  

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Depletion
Sugar leaches essential vitamins and minerals out of the body. Metabolising sugar requires quantities of vitamin C and B group vitamins and throws out the balance of minerals like magnesium, calcium, chromium and vanadium. Sugar affects bone mineral density, stresses the adrenal glands and lowers immunity. It creates an ideal environment for systemic infections as well as poor oral health, tooth decay and gum disease.
Addiction and the brain

Refined sugar is far more addictive than cocaine. Glucose is the primary source of fuel for the brain and unlike other cells, brain cells cannot breakdown protein or fat for energy. When you feel moody, tired, depressed or down many people choose to eat something sweet or drink a caffeinated drink to immediately boost blood and brain sugar. It is a short lived fix as afterwards you find yourself on a roller coaster ride of highs and lows that get worse the more sugar you eat leaving you feeling exhausted.  Poor memory, concentration, learning issues in both adults and children can simply be caused by the consumption of sugar.

Researchers explain that sweet receptors located on the tongue receive abnormally high stimulation by our sugar-rich diets generating excessive reward signals in our brain. This has the potential to override normal self-control mechanisms leading to addiction. One of the most difficult detoxes to do is take out all sources of sugar from your diet. No more honey, raw sugar, molasses, maple syrup, corn syrup, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, glucose, maltose, sucrose (any ingredient ending in –ose) and of course mannitol, sorbitol and alcohol.

It takes twenty-one days to retrain your taste buds to demand less sugar. Replacing refined grains and sugar with wholegrains, pulses, fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds is a gradual process that takes time. It works better for most people when meals or snacks are composed of a balance between protein, non-starchy  vegetables and  minimum wholegrains.  For example a breakfast of oats, yoghurt and seeds, fish, brown rice and salad and a snack with nuts and fruit creates the perfect balance.

Alternative sweeteners (not artificial) like stevia, xylitol and agave can have benefits for many people and are available at the Organic Foods and Cafe. However if you have poor blood sugar control it is much better to improve this first with an organic, fresh wholefood diet first.  Read food labels and if sugar appears in the first three to four ingredients you know that product is high in sugar.
I experienced profound detox reactions when I removed all sugar, natural sweeteners, yeast and alcohol from my diet.  After doing an allergy test called Immupro in November 2008, I pulled the pin on all sugar. Cane sugar, yeast and more than eighty other foods out of three hundred and thirty were reactive in the my blood based on an IgG test which measures an immune reaction to food that is slower to develop (compared to IgE which is an immediate response like a peanut allergy). It was a pretty grim Christmas but I am now much more alert to how my body responds to sugar and observant of why and when I go for something sweet.

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