Dietary guidelines for Americans were first published in 1977, giving birth to the development of the low-fat revolution. During this time, we were encouraged to consume less saturated fat. In other words, it was a push to have us eat less of the conventional foods we were used to (like meat, butter, full-fat dairy and eggs).
The recommendations were recognized, and adhered to, by the food industry as they quickly shifted to accommodate the many foods they produced to match the main public health message that saturated fat was indeed bad and needed to be lowered in our over-all diets.
But, the food industry also noticed that by removing the fat from foods the taste was severely compromised. So, the food industry turned to their magic bullet “SUGAR”. And, unbeknownst to the general public, they added a whole bunch of sugar to their foods to replace the fat they removed.
Although sugar was never endorsed by public health guidelines, the sole emphasis was on reducing saturated fat – essentially distracting us from the stuff that (we now know today) was actually healthier and more beneficial to our bodies.
Today, people are eating massive amounts of added sugars – usually without even realizing it.
In 1800, on average, we consumed just 10 pounds of sugar per year. Today, we’re consuming upwards of 100 pounds per year. Now keep in mind that this is “on average.” Teenagers and young adults are actually consuming closer to 130 pounds of sugar per year… and many individuals are eating much, much more.
So what’s all the hype about SUGAR…
Is it really that bad?
Maybe not in small amounts, BUT in the amount Americans consume today YES, it can be downright toxic.
Here Are 6 reasons why sugar is bad for your health and weight
1. Sugar is nutritionally deficient
You’ve probably heard this a million times before but it’s definitely worth repeating. Sugar contains a lot of calories, with no essential nutrients.
For this reason, sugar is called an empty calorie.
There is no protein, essential fats, vitamins or minerals in sugar. Sugar is just pure energy calories. This is why when people eat a large percentage of their calories as sugar (mostly unknowingly) it becomes a primary catalyst to nutrient deficiencies. Sugar is also very easily digestible and being the main energy supply for bad bacteria it can create a multitude of issues including leaky gut and autoimmune disorders.
2. Sugar leads to increases in insulin a fat storing hormone
Insulin is a hormone made in the pancreas. It plays a major role in your metabolism – basically, the way the body uses digested food for energy. The digestive tract breaks carbohydrates down into sugars found in the many processed foods and starches we consume today. Those sugars then enter the bloodstream. With the help of insulin, cells throughout the body absorb those sugars and use it for energy. When the supply of sugar is greater than what the body needs for energy, insulin (being a fat storing hormone) transports the excess sugars directly to your fat cells to be stored as body-fat for future energy.
3. Sugar is highly inflammatory
Sugar plays a large part in weight gain, and in the development of chronic, long-lasting, inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation has a damaging effect on the body over time, without any signs or symptoms. Scientists have found that complex interactions in fat tissue draw immune cells to the areas which trigger chronic inflammation. Inflammation has been sighted as a main contributor to the development of weight gain, obesity, insulin resistance, type II diabetes, cardiovascular, neurologically disorders and autoimmune diseases.
4. High sugar diets are linked to increased risk for cancer
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and is characterized by uncontrolled growth and multiplication of cells. Insulin happens to be one of the key hormones in regulating this sort of growth. For this reason, many scientists believe that having constantly elevated insulin levels (a consequence of sugar consumption) can contribute to cancer. In addition, the metabolic problems associated with sugar consumption are a known driver of inflammation, another potential cause of cancer. Multiple studies show that people who eat a lot of sugar are at a much higher risk of getting cancer.
5. Sugar can be downright addictive
Sugar can be highly addictive for many of us. Like other addictive drugs, sugar causes a release of dopamine in the reward center of the brain.
The problem with sugar is that it can cause a massive dopamine release, much more than we were ever exposed to from naturally sweetened foods found in nature. For this reason, people who have a susceptibility to addiction can become strongly addicted to sugar and many of the junk foods we so readily consume in our everyday diets. The “everything in moderation” message that we are plague with daily may be a bad idea as well – especially for people who are addicted to sugary foods because the only thing that works for true addiction is complete abstinence.
6. Sugar is linked to Alzheimer’s the new “Type 3 Diabetes”
Back in 2005 breaking news about new insight into the cause of Alzheimer’s disease first emerged. At that time it was highly speculative, but today surmountable evidence point to Alzheimer’s as a form of diabetes, and the name being given to it is type 3.Due to the sugar-insulin link to the brain the onset of Alzheimer’s has now been considered a form of diabetes specific to the brain. Insulin resistance, the defining symptom of type II diabetes, is now being considered the equivalent in the case of Alzheimer’s to lack of insulin. Since type II diabetes is mainly developed as a result of a poor diet, high in sugar and processed foods, one of the preventative measures now being looked at is for people at genetic risk of Alzheimer’s is to go on a type II diabetes diet low in sugar and processed carbohydrates. Evidence Review
To see my view on how our diet may be tied to cognitive disorders see this article.
