Did you splurge over the holidays? If you’re like 75% of the American population, you ate too much sugar in the form of sweets or simple carbohydrates, which convert to sugar—foods like chocolate, ice cream, cake, candy, or rice, pasta, potatoes, and bread. Now that the holidays are over, you might want to consider reducing your sugar intake to enhance your vitality and longevity to lower your risk of full-body acidity (acidosis) that can lead to depression, concentration and coping difficulties, fatigue, pre/diabetes, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and various immune challenges.
The Need for Sugar and Sugar Balance
Glucose, a sugar derived from the digestion of carbohydrates, is our body’s primary energy source. When the small intestine absorbs nutrients and glucose through digestion, and special cells called enterocytes help them cross the intestinal lining into the bloodstream, the pancreas produces insulin. Insulin enables muscle, liver, and fat cells to take up glucose so they can function properly.
It is critical to maintain glucose within a normal range. The body adapts to high glucose levels in the blood either by storing it in the muscles or liver as glycogen (for later reabsorption when levels drop) or by speeding the release of insulin. If muscle and other cells stop responding to insulin (insulin resistance), blood sugar and insulin levels stay high long after eating, which can undermine physical and mental function. Over time, the demands on insulin-making cells in the pancreas can wear them out, potentially causing insulin production to stop and prediabetes and type 2 diabetes to develop.
Generally, the lower the glycemic index (GI) of a food containing sugar, the slower its impact on your blood sugar and, thus, the less damaging to your body. A carbohydrate is considered to be high glycemic if its GI is 70 or higher (processed foods like baked goods, candy bars, soda/energy drinks), while low glycemic foods that contain more fiber, water, protein, or fat (beans, nuts, fresh vegetables) have GIs below 55. Glycemic load (GL), considered by many to be a better gauge for measuring a food’s impact on blood glucose and insulin response, indicates both how quickly a food makes glucose enter your bloodstream and how much glucose per serving it can deliver. GL thus provides a more accurate picture of a food’s real-life impact on your blood sugar.
Potential Health Problems from Excess Sugar Consumption
In addition to pre/diabetes, space permits only a brief discussion of the numerous potential problems that can stem from sugar abuse. Below is a primer of some key concerns to keep in mind and some natural means of curbing the negative impact of sugar.
Addiction
While the topic of sugar addiction is controversial, some research has suggested that eating sugar stimulates the brain to produce endorphins and large amounts of the neurotransmitter dopamine (similar to how it reacts to heroin and cocaine). You repeat sugar intake to feel the high it produces, and as you eat more sugar more often, your brain releases less dopamine, possibly in response to reduced sweet taste bud cell function. As eating excess sweets causes your brain to become increasingly hardwired to crave sugar, you develop a tolerance, as with any other drug, and the only way to feel the same high as before is to repeat the behavior in increasing amounts and frequency. At the same time, addictive sugar intake causes a rise in insulin levels and a drop in blood sugar, resulting in a repeat of the addiction cycle.
Compulsive behavior can thus develop despite its negative consequences, including hormone
imbalances, depression, headaches, and weight gain.
The Natural Approach: Sugar detox; foods high in L-tyrosine; supplements to boost mood and manage blood sugar.
Body Acidity and Weakened Immunity
Sugar is highly acidic, and disease states thrive in an acidic environment. Sugar thus not only generally suppresses the immune system but specifically feeds cancer. It has been connected with the development of cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate, rectum, pancreas, lung, gallbladder, and stomach.
The sugar-based acidic environment is also a breeding ground for the parasitic, yeast-like fungus Candida albicans. Since Candida survives on carbohydrates and sugar, it can overgrow and develop into systemic candidiasis, also known as Candida-related complex (CRC). CRC can significantly undermine immune function, causing a wide range of health conditions.
If candidiasis is causing sugar cravings, it follows that controlling it can significantly reduce them and improve health. Generally, managing CRC involves five critical steps: (1) kill the yeast; (2) starve the yeast; (3) replace the good intestinal bacteria that the yeast has crowded out; (4) address the toxic die-off symptoms that can arise from killing yeast; and (5) manage stress.
The Natural Approach: A therapeutic lifestyle change program that incorporates a high-alkaline diet and/or a CRC protocol; supplements that strengthen immunity against fungi, viruses, and bacteria.
Reduced Brain Function/Focus
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is responsible for the development of new nerve tissue in the brain and thus for the capacity to expand memory, learn, and grow. Research has shown that high-sugar diets decrease BDNF. Although the issue is controversial, Lendon Smith, M.D., a well-known pediatrician, even maintained that sugar can cause hyperactivity/ADHD by impacting the mid-brain, which controls emotions and the ability to focus.
The Natural Approach: Supplements that manage blood sugar and enhance brain function and focus (chromium polynicotinate, B-complex, and a blend of GABA, L-taurine, L-glycine, inositol, and valerian).
Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity
Metabolic syndrome, which causes premature aging, is generally diagnosed when a patient has three of five interrelated conditions, which the intake of excess sugar can exacerbate:
(1) excessive belly fat (waist circumference – women > 35”/ men > 40”); (2) high triglycerides > 150; (3) low HDL < 50 (“good” cholesterol that carries LDL out of the body); (4) high blood pressure over 130/85; and/or (5) fasting glucose > 100 [indicates insulin resistance (pre-diabetes)].
Waist circumference is but one indicator of whether one might be overweight or obese due to excess consumption of sugar. Overweight can also be defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 25-29, while obesity can be defined as a BMI equal to or greater than 30. Since the liver can only store 100 g of glucose as glycogen, and the muscles can store only 500 g of glycogen, any excess sugars are converted to and stored as fat. There is practically no limit to how many calories the body can store as fat.
The Natural Approach: Regular aerobic exercise; a calorie-restricted, healthy diet; a stress reduction regimen; and supplements to reduce insulin resistance and control blood sugar [“carb-blockers” (white bean extract, Irvingia/African mango, brown seaweed); resveratrol [mimics calorie restriction, combats unhealthy levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, and insulin)]; alpha lipoic acid (helps burn glucose); Gymnema sylvestre (stimulates insulin production); vanadyl sulfate (mimics insulin); chromium polynicotinate (combats insulin resistance, binds to insulin to facilitate muscle use of glucose, promotes weight loss); magnesium; and milk thistle standardized for silymarin content (lowers/stabilizes blood glucose levels; protects the liver, the most important tissue involved in insulin utilization).
Incremental lifestyle changes can empower you to combat sugar abuse and thus improve and prolong your life. Consult your physician, a holistic nutritionist, and a dietary supplements specialist for support. Once the health effects of your new lifestyle begin to kick in, you’ll crave nutritious foods rather than sugar and wonder how you ever ate all those sweets!
Submitted by Erika Dworkin, BCHN (Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition®), Wellness Guide and former owner of the Manchester Parkade Health Shoppe in Manchester, CT (www.cthealthshop.com), which operated for 65 years. To read more about this topic, contact Erika to get a copy of her chapter in the 25 practitioners’ collaborative book, The Energy Medicine Solution: Mind Blowing Results to Live Your Extraordinary Life.
All statements in this article are practice- or scientific evidence-based, and references are available upon request. The statements in this article have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, are for educational purposes only, and are not intended to take the place of a physician’s advice.
Erika is available for nutrition consultations and to speak to groups, in person or via Telehealth or Zoom. She can be contacted by phone at 860.646.8178 or by email at: edworkin@vitathena.com. Office Hours By Request. Visit: www.vitathenawellness.com to contact Erika for a Complimentary 20-Minute Wellness Assessment.