Once you start looking, you see sugar everywhere, in everything. The majority of people assume sugar is some benign, inconsequential ingredient. But this assumption is wrong, and it is killing your health. This processed white substance causes a cascade of issues that transpire inside our bodies. Too much sugar disrupts hormonal function and cellular function in ways that accelerate metabolic disease, aging, and a host of other issues.
And I GUARANTEE, you are eating more of it than you realize!
HOW IT CHANGES YOUR HORMONES
Sugar is sticky and it binds to hormone receptors, causing us to be insensitive to the hormone insulin. “Insulin resistance” causes your blood sugar levels to continue to rise, giving way to diabetes and a whole wealth of other problems, such as weight gain. Sugar slows neural communication, which is why you experience irritability, brain fog, and headaches. Long-term use leads to dementia. On top of this, it stiffens collagen causing arthritis and premature wrinkles. But worst of all, sugar opens the door to different types of cancer and infection.
HOW SUGAR DOES IT: GLYCATION
We can all agree sugar is sticky. Glycation is the process by which sugar sticks to stuff. It does this by reacting with proteins on surfaces to form breakable bonds. Glycation reactions are reversible, but with enough heat or time, the bonds become permanent due to oxidation. This process of glycation produces by-products called AGEs, (Advanced Glycation End Products). It should be easy to remember because AGEs cause you to age early. The AGEs harden your cells and tissues, making them brittle and stiff. With normal blood sugar levels, this reaction happens slowly and gets cleaned up by your white blood cells and you excrete the waste.
EATING TOO MUCH
However, the problem is that sugar is being consumed daily, and in mass quantities. Americans are consuming an average of 200 pounds of sugar a year! We are eating sugar at every meal, every snack, before bed, and for breakfast. We are overloading our systems with something that was only meant to be consumed every once in a while. If you don’t believe me, take a look at the food you are eating throughout the day. Write everything down and read every label. How much sugar did you eat that you weren’t aware of? The bowl of cereal, the granola bar, the wheat bread, the Gatorade, the ice cream, it’s all sugar.
YOUR ORGANS CAN’T KEEP UP
Your pancreas tries to keep your blood sugar levels between 70 and 85 mg/dl at all times by secreting insulin. Insulin is what removes sugar from your bloodstream. But a blast of sugar overloads your pancreas and your liver with more than it can handle. It has to get cleaned up and moved out before the next blast of sugar. If you continue to assault your body with a tsunami of sugar, it will never have time to get things cleaned up and excreted. This causes your blood sugars to continually rise. The extra glucose has to go somewhere, so guess what? It gets stored as FAT! To top it all off, you are tired, cranky, run-down, and hungry!
