Well, we think so, and we’re in the minority. But there’s some evidence that sugar (including high-fructose corn syrup) is more toxic than most people want to know.
This article from The New York Times Magazine is worth a read. We’re including a rather lengthy teaser, in the hopes that it gets you to read the whole article. What we’ve shared here is the tip of the iceberg – if you read to the end, you’ll find out what the research is showing and why the researchers have stopped consuming sugar.
On May 26, 2009, Robert Lustig gave a lecture called “Sugar: The Bitter Truth,” which was posted on YouTube the following July. Since then, it has been viewed well over 800,000 times, gaining new viewers at a rate of about 50,000 per month, fairly remarkable numbers for a 90-minute discussion of the nuances of fructose biochemistry and human physiology.
The viral success of his lecture, though, has little to do with Lustig’s impressive credentials and far more with the persuasive case he makes that sugar is a “toxin” or a “poison….”
Lustig’s argument, however, is not about the consumption of empty calories — and biochemists have made the same case previously, though not so publicly. It is that sugar has unique characteristics, specifically in the way the human body metabolizes the fructose in it, that may make it singularly harmful, at least if consumed in sufficient quantities.
The phrase Lustig uses when he describes this concept is “isocaloric but not isometabolic.” This means we can eat 100 calories of glucose (from a potato or bread or other starch) or 100 calories of sugar (half glucose and half fructose), and they will be metabolized differently and have a different effect on the body. The calories are the same, but the metabolic consequences are quite different.
The fructose component of sugar and H.F.C.S. is metabolized primarily by the liver, while the glucose from sugar and starches is metabolized by every cell in the body. Consuming sugar (fructose and glucose) means more work for the liver than if you consumed the same number of calories of starch (glucose). And if you take that sugar in liquid form — soda or fruit juices — the fructose and glucose will hit the liver more quickly than if you consume them, say, in an apple (or several apples, to get what researchers would call the equivalent dose of sugar). The speed with which the liver has to do its work will also affect how it metabolizes the fructose and glucose.
In animals, or at least in laboratory rats and mice, it’s clear that if the fructose hits the liver in sufficient quantity and with sufficient speed, the liver will convert much of it to fat. This apparently induces a condition known as insulin resistance, which is now considered the fundamental problem in obesity, and the underlying defect in heart disease and in the type of diabetes, type 2, that is common to obese and overweight individuals. It might also be the underlying defect in many cancers.
If what happens in laboratory rodents also happens in humans, and if we are eating enough sugar to make it happen, then we are in trouble.
In the first 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor, allowing you to keep it down.
20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat. (And there’s plenty of that at this particular moment.)
40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate; your blood pressure rises; as a response, your liver dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked, preventing drowsiness.
45 minutes: Your body ups your dopamine production, stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. This is physically the same way heroin works, by the way.
> 60 minutes: The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium, and zinc in your lower intestine, providing a further boost in metabolism. This is compounded by high doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners also increasing the urinary excretion of calcium.
> 60 minutes: The caffeine’s diuretic properties come into play. (It makes you have to pee.) It is now assured that you’ll evacuate the bonded calcium, magnesium, and zinc that was headed to your bones as well as sodium, electrolytes, and water.
> 60 minutes: As the rave inside you dies down, you’ll start to have a sugar crash. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You’ve also now, literally, pissed away all the water that was in the soda. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like hydrating your system, or building strong bones and teeth.
This will all be followed by a caffeine crash in the next few hours. (As little as two if you’re a smoker.)
There’s nothing worse than a low-energy day as we head into the holiday season – except maybe a string of low-energy days.
The best way to combat low-energy is by taking care of yourself. Caffeine and those chemical-laden energy drinks are a waste of money and dangerous for your health.
Go to bed at a reasonable hour. Studies have shown that getting a couple of hours of sleep before midnight is especially helpful.
Get 6-8 hours of sleep each night. Individual needs vary, but usually fall in this range.
Drink water as your primary beverage. Cut out all sodas and caffeinated beverages. Limit your alcohol consumption to no more than two drinks a day, and no more than five drinks a week. Drink a glass of water for every alcoholic beverage you consume.
Eat a minimum of 5 servings of vegetables a day, and make at least one of those leafy greens (spinach, kale, etc.).
Cut out the sugar and sweeteners. They may give you a boost, but it’s only a temporary feeling before the crash.
Exercise every day. Do something that makes you break a sweat, and then keep it up for 10 more minutes. Exercise helps you sleep better, metabolize food better, and helps reduce stress.
Cut back on animal proteins. They take more energy to digest, and you want that energy for other tasks.
Trade in carbonated beverages for water, and see your weight change and your health improve. It’s not instant, but it’s a small change that will add up fast.
Sodas made with sugar or corn syrup add calories without nutrition, and lead to tooth decay (just ask your dentist).
Even diet sodas cause problems. The chemical sweeteners can lead to cravings for more sweet foods, or for salty foods (to balance the sweetness of the soda). Either way, you don’t need those extra foods. And we really don’t know what all those chemicals are doing in our bodies over time.
Drinking a carbonated beverage means drinking in gas… and then you have to get rid of the gas. No matter which end it comes out, it’s not the image you want to project. At least we don’t think so.
It’s easier to get the sugar out of your menus and diet if it’s out of your kitchen.
Don’t add sugar to any of your food or beverages. Stop putting sugar in your coffee or tea – use stevia or agave syrup instead. Leave it off your cereal – add a banana or some raisins.
Get rid of the white foods. That’s white and brown sugar (brown sugar is just white sugar with added molasses), powdered sugar, white flour, white pasta, white rice, white bread. Replace them with sweeteners that are less refined, whole-grain flour, pasta, and bread, and brown rice.
Read labels. Get rid of anything that contains sugar, fructose, sucrose, or other -ose ingredients. Pay attention to foods that, if you were cooking from scratch, you would never add sweeteners – like chicken broth, soup, canned vegetables, peanut butter, etc.
Our bodies have several built-in systems that go into action when we introduce a heavy load of refined sugar into them. Minerals such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium from our bones are mobilized, and neutral acids are produced in an effort to return the acid-alkaline balance of the blood to a more normal state. Consuming a fairly large amount of sugar each day continuously creates an overly acidic condition, so that more and more minerals are required from within our bodies to create this balance. Eventually so much calcium is robbed from the body, bones, and teeth, that decay and weakness result. As I have always maintained, people don’t need the calcium from dairy products to strengthen their bones as much as they need to stop eating sugar to avoid the damage it causes to bones.
Did you know that the number one day that teachers call in for substitutes is the day after Halloween?
It’s because of the candy. Kids are hyped up on sugar from the night before (and sometimes from candy for breakfast), and they’re tired from the excitement of the night before. They have almost no focus … and then they have a sugar crash, and they get cranky and sleepy. What teacher wants to deal with that?
Do your kids – and their teachers – a favor. Ration the candy. Trade their candy for something way more interesting to them – a new toy, new music, some sports equipment. Let them choose 10 pieces to keep and throw the rest away. Just don’t send your kids to school on a sugar high.
You don’t have to give up all your sweet pleasure foods on the Total Health Makeover®, but you do need to choose the ones made with the healthiest sweeteners.
Here are our favorites.
Raw Honey * Extracted from flower nectar by bees. Look for different “flavors” based on different flowers – for example, clover, buckwheat, lavender. These aren’t added flavors; just what the bee ate. Honey is 20-60% sweeter than sugar, so you can use less.
Maple Syrup * Drawn from the sap of a maple tree. Look for Grade B (less processed, contains more minerals). Use organic to avoid formaldehyde and additives.
Maple Sugar * The dried (crystallized) form of maple syrup. It’s expensive, but can often be found in bulk bins, so you only need to buy what you’ll use. Try it for half the sweetener in oatmeal cookies or pumpkin pie.
Barley Malt * Made from sprouted barley. This has a strong, distinctive flavor. Best in savory dishes that need a little sweetener. Store in the fridge (keeps for a long time).
Brown Rice Syrup * Made from brown rice and various enzymes. Mild flavor that works well in desserts. Store in fridge (keeps for a long time).
Fruit Juice Concentrate * Grape, peach, pear, apple, and pineapple juice concentrates can be used as sweeteners. These are especially good in fruit-based desserts.
Molasses * A byproduct of sugar cane in the processing of refined sugar. Light and Barbados molasses have a lighter taste than sorghum or blackstrap molasses. The latter two have more minerals. Mostly used in conjunction with milder sweeteners.
Date Sugar * Ground, dehydrated dates. Available in different size crystals/particles. Use the finest date sugar for baking.
Sucanat * Crystallized cane sugar that has been minimally processed, never having the molasses removed. The flavor is a bit like refined brown sugar. Crystals are not shiny or consistent in size. Sucanat stands for SUgar CAne NATural.
Rapadura * Similar to Sucanat. More commonly available in Europe.
Stevia * From a perennial shrub of the aster family. Available as a powder in small packets, or as a liquid. Extremely sweet. Often used to sweeten beverages. Find specific recipe substitutes for baking, as the volume required is so different.
Agave Nectar * From a cactus. Look for organic agave for the best quality.
Sugar is not your friend. At least not when it’s in your food.
Here’s what sugar does for you *
Depletes the body of B vitamins
Leaches calcium from hair, blood, bones and teeth
Interferes with the absorption of calcium, protein and other minerals
Retards growth of valuable intestinal bacteria (the bacteria that aids in digestion by breaking food down)
Overstimulates and causes dramatic mood swings in children, making them unruly (Marilu calls sugar “kiddie cocaine”)
Increases opportunities for diabetes, obesity, rheumatism, gout, hypoglycemia, acne, indigestion, arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), and even mental illness
Ferments in the stomach, stopping the secretion of gastric juices and inhibiting the stomach’s ability to digest
In summary? Keep the sugar in your love life, not in your kitchen.
And for those of you who may not know the song this post title is from…
We’re starting Day 3 of Countdown in BOOTY Camp – there’s still time to join the fun and get results in the month of May.
What is Countdown? It’s a preparation period. A way to clean out your body from the worst dietary offenders. A way to transition to eating healthier. Join us now and don’t miss another day.
The 4-day Countdown to our Booty Camp consists of eliminating the Four NO’s from your diet. The Four NO’s are: NO dairy, NO red meat, NO alcohol and NO sugar. Adhering to the four NO’s for these four days will start you on your way to preparing your palate and body for upcoming days at Booty Camp. Please feel free to jump in, ask questions, and follow along here (members) or here (everybody’s welcome).
Dairy is found in foods like milk, cheese, ice cream, cream cheese, butter, and yogurt. Dairy can also be hidden in foods like bread, English muffins and other bread products, and pre-packaged foods. Soy/rice/almond milk, non-dairy ice creams, soy yogurts and rice/soy cheeses are good alternatives. But, it is best to avoid it all during these four days.
Sugar comes in many forms. A few of the sugars to avoid are refined white sugar, brown sugar, glucose, corn syrup, and maltose. Chemical sweeteners like NutraSweet and Splenda are out as well. Some good substitutes are honey, Sucanat, agave, blackstrap molasses, maple sugar, maple syrup, brown rice syrup and Stevia. But, again, it is best to avoid these substitutes during the four-day countdown. (A note about fruit: Fruit has naturally-occurring sugars. It is recommended to eat fruit during these four days).
Avoid red meat such as beef, pork, venison, lamb, buffalo meat, etc. Instead, try organic, cage-free poultry, fish, tofu, tempeh, quinoa or other grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.
Alcohol should be avoided during these four days as we work to clean our systems and palates. Jill’s favorite alternative to alcohol is sparkling water over ice with fresh squeezed lemon and lime. Other options to consider are flavored seltzers, club soda, fruit juice and herbal tea.
We are glad you are joining us for these four days and look forward to seeing YOU in Booty Camp!
