For most of us, sugar addiction starts early. It begins in the wombs of our mothers. Everyday, mothers partake of the many sugary treats of the Western world--candy, gum, chocolate, fruit juice, and a plethora of desserts--and so do their unborn children. There, in the womb, we learn to crave for the taste of sugar and yearn for the rush that it provides--however brief. Once outside the womb, sugar becomes a more palpable addiction. In addition to the sugar-ladden breast milk that we receive from our mothers, we learn to identify the taste, smell and appearance of sweet treats for ourselves.
By the age of one, most children are able to identify sweets by the brightly colored packaging, the noisy plastic wrapping and the value that adults place on it. Thus begins the path to diabetes, obesity, acne (it is NOT a myth, if anyone tells you otherwise they're probably trying to sell you something to "cure" it), insulin resistance, polycystic ovarian syndrome and impaired immunity (just a few spoonfuls of table sugar can decrease your immune response for several hours, not to mention ruin your appetite).
So, if sugar's so bad for us, why do we like it some much?
The simple answer is that it's easy to like (and become addicted to) something that you need to live. Sugar or more accurately, glucose is the fuel used by most live forms. Our bodies take sugar (sucrose) and starch (carbohydrates) and coverts them into glucose. It's essential for the function of our cells and brains.
But, overconsumption of sugar actually reduces brain function, takes blood sugar levels on a rollercoaster ride, and makes us feel sluggish and crappy.
And it is oh so easy to consume too much sugar. Take an average American meal as an example:
A hamburger, fries and soda.
The soda is high in high fructose corn syrup (a type of super-concentrated, cheap sugar), the fries are made from starchy potatoes, and the hamburger is on a refined carbohydrate bun with sugar injected ketchup. The hamburger itself may also have sugar as an ingredient.
Just try to go without sugar for 1 day and you'll see how difficult it is to avoid. Check the labels and look up the nutrition facts of every thing that you eat and see for yourself.
A diet devoid of soda, candy and pastries provides more than enough sugar to fuel body and won't leave you feeling like a drained sugar feign.
But, whole grains, fruits and veggies can be a hard pill to swallow after more than 20 years of sugar highs. What is an addict in recover to do?
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
