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Lick the Sugar Habit: 20 Ways Sugar Harms Your Health

Sunday, August 23, 2009 4:30:00 PM Posted by Diabetes

Because most people love the taste of sugary foods, it is tempting to ignore the health consequences from chronic use of refined sugar. In fact, regular consumption of the refined sweetener can cause serious damage to your body. While weaning yourself off of a sugar addiction can be challenging, it is important to comprehend the dangers of continued sugar consumption versus the health benefits of switching to a natural sugar substitute.

20 Reasons to Avoid Refined Sugar

1. Addiction: Sugar is addictive; it can be intoxicating similar to alcohol and can contribute to alcoholism.
2. Weight gain and eating disorders: Eating excessive amounts of sugar leads to weight gain and other illnesses associated with obesity. Because sugar is addictive, consuming it causes sugar cravings and binge eating.
3. Dental problems: Sugar causes tooth and gum decay and can cause your saliva to turn acidic.
4. Tired and achy muscles: Eating sugar can make you feel weak and tired; it zaps your energy.
5. Hypoglycemia: Sugar increases fasting glucose levels and can cause reactive hypoglycemia.
6. Blood vessel damage: Sugar compromises the lining of your capillaries and also contributes to varicose veins.

Too much sugar makes you feel irritable and depressed.
8. Heart problems: Excess sugar has been linked to atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease.
9. Kidney and liver problems: Excess sugar can be damaging to your kidney and liver; it increases the size of both organs and causes kidney stones.
10. Sleep disorders: Eating too many refined sugars disturbs the normal sleep cycle.
11. Cancer: Sugar feeds cancer cells and has been linked with the development of many cancers including breast, ovarian, prostate, rectal, pancreatic, lung, gallbladder, and stomach.
12. Aging: Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and can lead to premature aging of the skin.
13. Diabetes: Sugar leads to a decrease in your insulin sensitivity causing high insulin levels and diabetes.
14. Candida: Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida alb cans (yeast infection).
15. Immune suppression: Sugar can suppress your immune system and impair your defenses against infectious disease.
16. Attention and Hyperactivity Disorders: Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline, hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children. Sugar reduces learning capacity, adversely affects children's grades in school, and can exacerbate learning and behavioral disorders.
17. Eyesight: Sugar weakens eyesight; it leads to cataracts and nearsightedness.
18. Autoimmune disease: Sugar aggravates autoimmune conditions such as arthritis, asthma, and multiple sclerosis.
19. Gastrointestinal disorders: Sugar is associated with an acidic digestive tract, heartburn, indigestion, ulcers, malabsorption, Candida overgrowth, food allergies, and an increased risk of Cohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
20. Mineral absorption: Sugar interferes with calcium and magnesium absorption, contributing to osteoporosis. Sugar also causes chromium and copper deficiencies.

Natural Sugar Alternatives
Natural sugar alternatives allow you to enjoy the sweet taste of sugar without the damaging effects on your body. Stevie, an herb, is a chemical-free sugar alternative with zero calories. It also lowers blood pressure and protects your teeth and gums.

Agave contains the same amount of calories as sugar, but it is a natural product - unrefined fructose - derived from the Mexican Agave plant.

Using natural sugar alternatives can be just the thing you need to lick the sugar habit.
Control your Diabetes Disease with the Foods you Eat
Diabetes is a killer disease. It can lead to kidney failure, heart disease, neuropathy, blindness, and much more. If you have diabetes, you must take control of it immediately.

Type 1 diabetes is the hardest type to control. It is also called juvenile diabetes, as it is common to get type 1 diabetes when you are a child. For type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin, which is needed to take sugar (glucose) from the blood to the cells. This results in very high blood sugar counts and this is the major cause of many of the serious complications that may develop.

A person with Type 1 diabetes needs to take insulin shots to lower the blood sugar. Diabetics need to have insulin called background insulin, which works throughout the day. Then they need to take extra insulin after eating a meal.

However, diabetics must test their blood sugar levels four or five times a day and make whatever adjustments need to be made. The normal testing times are before breakfast, lunch, dinner and bed.

What can someone do that has type 2 diabetes?
Sugar highs and lows wear down the body. One way to do this is by eating foods with a low glycemic index. Follow the glycemic index when eating. This index rates foods according to the way these foods react to your blood sugar. If the carbohydrates the food contains break down quickly, they tend to make your blood sugar levels jump quickly. These foods have a high GI (glycemic index) ranking. Foods with a low glycemic index break down in your body a slower pace and cause less of an extreme jump in your blood sugar.

Levels
For example, a potato has a high GI ranking. The carbohydrates break down very quickly and cause your blood sugar to rise rapidly. Beans have a low GI index, so the blood sugar effects are spread out over a longer period of time. You do not get the rapid sugar rise. Diabetics, in particular, need to learn to balance these foods to avoid those highs and lows. If you are having potatoes, for example, try eating a sweet potato instead or combine some low GI ranked foods with the potatoes to balance this sugar rise. It's well worth it for diabetics to learn as much as they can about this glycemic index. The best diet for a diabetic to follow will be eating more of the foods with a low to medium glycemic index instead of high glycemic index foods. Salt should be limited in the diet as the diabetic is at a greater risk for high blood pressure. Eat broiled or grilled chicken rather than fried chicken. This also helps control blood pressure and cholesterol. If you want to drink wine, drink it with a meal. There is less of an impact on blood sugar. Diabetes is a very dangerous disease and any diabetic definitely should be visiting a doctor on a regular basis. Diabetes can be controlled with a change in diet and lifestyle, Diabetics can help manage your illness and live a long life.


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