Who doesn't love sugar? The sweet taste of chocolate mousse, homemade cookies, carrot cake... Though we consume it on a daily basis, we all know that it contains no vitamins, no minerals and that it is simply not healthy. But just how bad is it? As I researched the negative aspects of sugar for this post, I realized that, in fact, there is not much controversy on the topic. All specialists more or less agree that refined sugar is addictive (more than cocaine according to studies) and nutritionally empty. Because of the fact that it increases the insulin level in your blood, it also can cause a multiplicity of ailments. Amongst other things , sugar:
- Suppresses the immune system, making us open to bacterial infections
- Increases inflammation
- Throws off the body’s ability to both absorb and maintain proper balance of essential minerals (i.e., calcium, magnesium, chromium, copper)
- Weakens eyesight
- Can produce an acidic stomach
- Is the top cause of tooth decay
- Contributes to obesity
- Can decrease growth hormone
- Can increase the systolic blood pressure
- Can cause migraine headaches
- Can cause cataracts
- Can increase free radicals in the blood stream
- Can increase over eating
Sugar also has an impact on the mood. Our bodies naturally produce serotonin (the feel-good brain chemical) in balanced amounts. Sugar raises the serotonin level in our brain, giving us a "high". However, over time, the intake of sugar leads the body to cut back on serotonin production, throwing off the natural serotonin balance, thus having an effect on mood, appetite, cravings, sex drive, energy and sleeping patterns.
According to Ayurveda (Traditional Indian Medicine) and Traditional Chinese Medicine, we all need the six tastes: sweet, sour, salty, astringent, bitter and pungent to stimulate the taste buds on our tongue at main meals, in order to experience satiety. However, sweetness can be found in fruit and in less refined sugars such as honey and molasses, which happen to also contain minerals and vitamins essential to the body. Entirely cutting out sugar of the diet might not be possible (sugar is found in everything), but just decreasing your intake can have a positive impact on health and happiness!
And how about you? Do you eat a lot of sugar? Would you like to cut down?
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