Why Is Sugar Bad For You?

By Christopher A Drummond

Sugar is a big problem, that news isn't a shock to anyone. Some might say it is actually an epidemic. After all, sugar appears in nearly all foods in our modern diet e.g. drinks, jams, spreads and breakfast cereals. Sugar is also in some foods you wouldn't expect, such as salad dressing, soup and even pasta sauce.

A recent report actually showed that North Americans eat, on average a half of a cup of sugar... a day. Those amounts are bound to cause problems, but the question becomes, how can you even begin to address the problem if you don't know where all of this sugar is hiding?

One way is to focus on real wholefoods - foods that come from a real plant, not a factory. Organic preferably if you can afford it. Opting for low GI foods is another must if you are looking to have healthy balanced blood sugar levels.

Why is Sugar Bad for You?

The effect of sugar is more or less the same, whether you are consuming loads of white sugar, icing sugar or brown sugar, sugar means a spike in your blood sugar levels once you have consumed it.

One of the most common sugar myths is officially busted, just because you are consuming sugar that is brown, doesn't mean that it won't affect your blood sugar levels. And high blood sugar is a common complaint due to the issues it creates with insulin, which can severely harm your health e.g. obesity, diabetes and fatty liver disease.

Another thing to remember is that every time you consume sugar, not only is your blood sugar negatively affected, you fat hormones are inadvertently triggered and your immune system becomes sluggish which can lead to a whole host of other health problems.

When your immune system is lagging it can give bacterial and viral infections a chance to thrive, which opens you up to many other health problems.

What Helps?

Consider using some organic maple syrup, black strap molasses or raw honey as refined sugar substitutes. They don't give the same blood sugar highs and lows that the normal sugar does, and are tasty alternatives to the types of sugar that are causing so many problems.

Low GI Foods are also essential.

Parents, for a great eating plan for Kids, follow this link: Eating Plan for Hyper Kids: http://www.ourfamilyeats.com/the-6-week-challenge/

Don't give up the sugar fight, it might appear to be a losing battle of avoidance because of the idea that refined sugar is found in so many common and uncommon hiding places, but there are other options to sweeten your food so you aren't depriving yourself either.