3 Ways Sugar is Wreaking Havoc on Your Health

Yogurt, granola bars, cereal, and sports drinks can all be found with labels like “heart healthy” “low-fat” and “all-natural” as catch phrases to get us to buy them. In reality, what they should say when you turn them around and look at the ingredients, is “diabetes” “heart disease” and “inflammation”.  Manufacturers use ingredients like “oats” to make “heart healthy” claims and hide the added sugars that make those claims null and void.  

They are counting on the fact that the health conscious consumer like you and I are so focused on cookies, candy and cake that we don’t pay attention to the fact that their “fruit on the bottom” yogurt has just as much added sugar as a can of soda.  In fact, big corporations have given sugar over 60 aliases to hide it in ingredients.  

Added sugar happens to be the number one primary cause for insulin resistance. I’m not just talking about the extra chocolate bar you eat during PMS.  I’m talking about the sugars you’re not aware of hidden in things on the grocery store shelf labeled “healthy” on the package. 

Excess sugar consumption in the United states is one of the leading causes of our most prevalent ailments.  In 1915, the average sugar consumption per person was 17.5 pounds per year. As of 2011, the number rose to 150 pounds of sugar per person annually.  

All that added sugar is directly contributing to the insulin “parking gate” getting jammed (remember the metaphor from last blog) resulting in insulin resistance.  Insulin resistance is the underlying cause of obesity, Type 2 diabetes and even dementia which is now called Type 3 diabetes. It’s also linked to hypertension, high cholesterol and heart disease. 

But excess sugar doesn’t JUST cause insulin resistance, it wreaks havoc on your entire metabolic system. 

Here are 3 ways sugar is wreaking havoc on your health.

1. REDUCES IMMUNE SYSTEM: A 2011 research study from Open Journal of Immunology found that  75 grams (15 Tsp) of sugar , especially fructose (like the sugar in high-fructose corn syrup) can reduce immune function for 5 hours.  Just to give you context of how 75 grams of sugar can add up:

• Sports drinks can contain about 35 grams of sugar
• One can of soda has about 40 grams of sugar
• A low-fat, sweetened frozen yogurt has 47 grams of sugar
• A cupcake has about 46 grams of sugar
• A medium Dunkin Donut Frozen Chai Latte has 83 ADDED GRAMS OF SUGAR

1. INCREASES INFLAMMATION: The more sugar you consume the higher the  inflammatory markers in your blood, including a marker called C-reactive protein. Consuming a 50-gram dose of fructose causes a spike in inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein (CRP) just 30 minutes later. Furthermore, CRP remains high for over two hours. 

Inflammation is not just a cause of insulin resistance, diabetes and dementia. When inflammation becomes chronic (ie continuous) People may develop:

• Depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders
• Body pain
• Fatigue 
• Insomnia
• Digestive Issues (constipation, diarrhea, acid reflux etc)
• Weight gain
• Frequent infections
• Stiffening of arteries

A  study in overweight and obese people found that consuming one can of regular soda daily for six months led to increased levels of uric acid, a trigger for inflammation and insulin resistance. 

• DISRUPT THE ENTIRE GUT MICROBIOME

Our gut microbiome is called our “second brain”.  It is the vast community of microscopic organisms living in our intestines. Our gut microbiome has a nervous system, produces neurotransmitters and hormones, and is linked to just about every function of the body, including both mental and physical health.

Sugar consumption disrupts the gut microbiome, which may lead to inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) like Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and leaky gut. Sugar has been shown to degrade the important mucus lining of the gut making it more permeable for bacteria, toxins and undigested food particles which can more easily move out of the gut and into the bloodstream, leading to inflammation.  In research studies sugar has been shown to feed one bacterial species named Akkermansia muciniphila, which degrades mucus and has been linked to colon inflammation.

Sugar is added to our foods in various forms.  Here are types of Added Sugars* found in packaged foods you should look out for.  (Yes, even natural sugars like honey and molasses ADDED to foods count in the added sugar total.)

• brown sugar
• confectioner's powdered sugar
• corn syrup, corn syrup solids
• dextrose, fructose, lactose, maltose, sucrose
• high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
• honey
• invert sugar
• malt syrup
• maple syrup
• molasses
• nectars (e.g., peach or pear nectar)
• raw sugar
• white table (granulated) sugar
• and others [Download my 10 Day Sugar Rehab for a complete list of over 60 aliases manufacturers use in ingredient lists]

It can be tricky removing sugar from your diet so I want to help. I’ve put together an entire Sugar Detox Guide titled “The 10 Day Sugar Rehab”.  You can download it FREE at 10DaySugarRehab.com