The Dangers of Sugar

Our modern-day diets are too overloaded with high-sugar and highly processed

carbohydrate foods that not only provide naked calories but also spell deleterious effects on our health.

Research has shown that overconsumption of sugar,combined with poor nutrition,is the single biggest cause of heart disease. High sugar in our system has also been reported to suppress the immune system. Ann Louise Gittleman,

one of the leading nutritionists in the United States and author of the book “Get the Sugar Out”, explains how overconsuming sugar and processed carbo-

hydrates leaves us vulnerable to illness and disease. Simple sugars, notes

Gittleman, are known as immunosuppressants that paralyze the immune system

in many ways. Here’s a partial list of what sugar does to your body :

* destroys the germ-killing powers of white blood cells for as long as five

hours after ingestion.

* lessens the production of antibodies, which tract down foreign invaders

in the bloodstream.

* interferes with the absorption of vitamin C, one of the body’s most

important nutrients and and ntioxidants.

* causes mineral imbalances and sometimes allergic reactions.

* increases cholesterol.

* contributes to obesity.

* damages the kidneys

* contributes to diabetes

* causes premature aging.

If you want to kick the sugar habit, simply start to keep your sugar intake low.

Some people go to the extent of not eating sugar at all. Be aware also of grocery labels of products in your grocery list. Sugar goes under lots of names, but it is still sugar. “Ose” at the end of the word stands for sugar. There’s sucrose (common table sugar),dextrose, and fructose (fruit sugar). If you have a sweet tooth, have some fruits. The sugar in fruits are still sugar, but they don’t absorbed as quickly as refined white sugar, and ,unlike white sugar, which has no nutritional value, a piece of fruit has vitamins and minerals to nourish our well being.