Is Sugar hijacking your Health?

Sugar…an important part of that delicious doughnut or those warm chocolate chip cookies. These comfort foods have been a part of our lives for a long time. They smell good and we thought made us feel good. However, the sugar and refined carbohydrates in these foods could be hijacking our health.

There is a huge difference between naturally occurring sugar in whole foods and the added sugar in highly processed foods. Having too much added sugar has been found to lead to many health risks because our bodies were not designed to process all of it. Large amounts of sugar can tax our liver triggering our bodies to store the excess as fat. It can cause type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, increase cholesterol, increase blood pressure, and inflammation.

Eating sugar triggers our bodies to release insulin to help regulate the sugar in our blood. Cortisol, a stress hormone, can inhibit the production of insulin thus reducing its ability to regulate the sugar that we ingest. This can be a complex interaction. The end result leading to many health issues, including inflammation. Chronically high levels of stress can lead to a vicious cycle of ineffective regulation of blood sugar and increased inflammation. This can cause pain in the body and make it difficult to lose weight.

The culprits are mostly from added sugars which can be under so many names on food labels. Some common names, other than sugar, are:

corn syrup
high fructose corn syrup
maltose
dextrose
sucrose
barley malt
maltodextrin

The amount of fiber in a food can affect how the body processes sugar. Eat the whole apple instead of drinking apple juice. Eating whole fruits will have fiber which help to slow digestion thus slowing the blood sugar spike from the naturally occurring sugar. The juice which has no fiber, has concentrated the sugar which will give a fast spike in blood sugar.

It is important to read food labels and understand what you are putting into your body. The best options are always the foods that have no labels, the whole foods. Eating fruits and vegetables will provide the body with fiber and vitamins and minerals. When sweetening foods, natural sweeteners such as maple syrup and honey are also better choices.

Sugar causes a release of dopamine in the reward center of the brain telling us that the behavior was good and reinforcing the need for more, much as a drug does. The body becomes addicted to sugar and requires higher and higher doses to have the same response. The brain does not give the signal to stop eating it leading to overeating these sugary treats. Stopping sugar will have an adjustment period where your taste buds will change and the desire for sweet treats will start to diminish. It is amazing how much better you will feel without eating sugar but it is a commitment. Once you have cleared the effects and reset your body it will not hurt to have an occasional treat. We have but one life to live and we should be able to enjoy it. The key is moderation.

Some suggestions for healthy alternatives are: