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Sugar's effect on your health
The average American consumes an astounding 2-3 pounds of sugar each
week, which is not surprising considering that highly refined sugars
in the forms of sucrose (table sugar), dextrose (corn sugar), and high-
fructose corn syrup are being processed into so many foods such as
bread, breakfast cereal, mayonnaise, peanut butter, ketchup, spaghetti
sauce, and a plethora of microwave meals.

In the last 20 years, we have increased sugar consumption in the U.S.
26 pounds to 135 lbs. of sugar per person per year! Prior to the turn
of this century (1887-1890), the average consumption was only 5 lbs.
per person per year! Cardiovascular disease and cancer was virtually
unknown in the early 1900's.

The "glycemic index" is a measure of how a given food affects blood-
glucose levels, with each food being assigned a numbered rating. The
lower the rating, the slower the absorption and digestion process,
which provides a more gradual, healthier infusion of sugars into the
bloodstream. On the other hand, a high rating means that blood-glucose
levels are increased quickly, which stimulates the pancreas to secrete
insulin to drop blood-sugar levels. These rapid fluctuations of blood-
sugar levels are not healthy because of the stress they place on the
body.

One of sugar's major drawbacks is that it raises the insulin level,
which inhibits the release of growth hormones, which in turn depresses
the immune system. This is not something you want to take place if you
want to avoid disease.

An influx of sugar into the bloodstream upsets the body's blood-sugar
balance, triggering the release of insulin, which the body uses to
keep blood-sugar at a constant and safe level. Insulin also promotes
the storage of fat, so that when you eat sweets high in sugar, you're
making way for rapid weight gain and elevated triglyceride levels,
both of which have been linked to cardiovascular disease. Complex
carbohydrates tend to be absorbed more slowly, lessening the impact on
blood-sugar levels.

Sugar depresses the immune system.
We have known this for decades. It was only in the 1970's that
researchers found out that vitamin C was needed by white blood cells
so that they could phagocytize viruses and bacteria. White blood cells
require a 50 times higher concentration inside the cell as outside so
they have to accumulate vitamin C.

There is something called a "phagocytic index" which tells you how
rapidly a particular macrophage or lymphocyte can gobble up a virus,
bacteria, or cancer cell. It was in the 1970's that Linus Pauling
realized that white blood cells need a high dose of vitamin C and that
is when he came up with his theory that you need high doses of vitamin
C to combat the common cold.

We know that glucose and vitamin C have similar chemical structures,
so what happens when the sugar levels go up? They compete for one
another upon entering the cells. And the thing that mediates the entry
of glucose into the cells is the same thing that mediates the entry of
vitamin C into the cells. If there is more glucose around, there is
going to be less vitamin C allowed into the cell. It doesn't take
much: a blood sugar value of 120 reduces the phagocytic index by 75%.
So when you eat sugar, think of your immune system slowing down to a
crawl.

Here we are getting a little bit closer to the roots of disease. It
doesn't matter what disease we are talking about, whether we are
talking about a common cold or about cardiovascular disease, or cancer
or osteoporosis, the root is always going to be at the cellular and
molecular level, and more often than not insulin is going to have its
hand in it, if not totally controlling it.

The health dangers which ingesting sugar on an habitual basis creates
are certain. Simple sugars have been observed to aggravate asthma,
move mood swings, provoke personality changes, muster mental illness,
nourish nervous disorders, deliver diabetes, hurry heart disease, grow
gallstones, hasten hypertension, and add arthritis.

Because refined dietary sugars lack minerals and vitamins, they must
draw upon the body's micro-nutrient stores in order to be metabolized
into the system. When these storehouses are depleted, metabolization
of cholesterol and fatty acid is impeded, contributing to higher blood
serum triglycerides, cholesterol, promoting obesity due to higher
fatty acid storage around organs and in sub-cutaneous tissue folds.

Because sugar is devoid of minerals, vitamins, fiber, and has such a
deteriorating effect on the endocrine system, major researchers and
major health organizations (American Dietetic Association and American
Diabetic Association) agree that sugar consumption in America is one
of the 3 major causes of degenerative disease.

A good source of supplies for diabetics is diabeticdrugstore.com. They
offer healthy eating diabetic food, hard to find sugar free candy and
medical alert jewelry for diabetes care.

Honey is a simple sugar
There are 4 classes of simple sugars which are regarded by most
nutritionists as "harmful" to optimal health when prolonged
consumption in amounts above 15% of the carbohydrate calories are
ingested: Sucrose, fructose, honey, and malts.

Some of you may be surprised to find honey here. Although honey is a
natural sweetener, it is considered a refined sugar because 96% of dry
matter are simple sugars: fructose, glucose and sucrose. It is little
wonder that the honey bear is the only animal found in nature with a
problem with tooth-decay (honey decays teeth faster than table sugar).
Honey has the highest calorie content of all sugars with 65 calories/
tablespoon, compared to the 48 calories/tablespoon found in table
sugar. The increased calories are bound to cause increased blood serum
fatty acids, as well as weight gain, on top of the risk of more
cavities.

Pesticides used on farm crops and residential flowers have been found
in commercial honey. Honey can be fatal to an infant whose immature
digestive tracts are unable to deal effectively with Botulinum Spore
growth. What nutrients or enzymes raw honey does contain are destroyed
by manufacturers who heat it in order to give it a clear appearance to
enhance sales. If you are going to consume honey, make sure it is raw,
unheated honey. Good to use in special cures, but not as an every day
food. It is not much better than white or brown sugar.

Here is a list of ways sugar can affect your health:
Sugar can suppress the immune system.
Sugar can upset the body's mineral balance.
Sugar can contribute to hyperactivity, anxiety, depression,
concentration difficulties, and crankiness in children.
Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.
Sugar can reduce helpful high density cholesterol (HDLs).
Sugar can promote an elevation of harmful cholesterol (LDLs).
Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.
Sugar contributes to a weakened defense against bacterial infection.
Sugar can cause kidney damage.
Sugar can increase the risk of coronary heart disease.
Sugar may lead to chromium deficiency.
Sugar can cause copper deficiency.
Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
Sugar can increase fasting levels of blood glucose.
Sugar can promote tooth decay.
Sugar can produce an acidic stomach.
Sugar can raise adrenaline levels in children.
Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.
Sugar can speed the aging process, causing wrinkles and grey hair.
Sugar can increase total cholesterol.
Sugar can contribute to weight gain and obesity.
High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn's disease and
ulcerative colitis.
Sugar can contribute to diabetes.
Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity.
Sugar leads to decreased glucose tolerance.
Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.
Sugar can increase systolic blood pressure.
Sugar causes food allergies.
Sugar can cause free radical formation in the bloodstream.
Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.
Sugar can overstress the pancreas, causing damage.
Sugar can cause atherosclerosis.
Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries.
Sugar can cause liver cells to divide, increasing the size of the
liver.
Sugar can increase the amount of fat in the liver.
Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the
kidney.
Sugar can cause depression.
Sugar can increase the body's fluid retention.
Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance.
Sugar can cause hypertension.
Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.
Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha and theta brain waves,
which can alter the mind's ability to think clearly.
Sugar can increase blood platelet adhesiveness which increases risk of
blood clots and strokes.
Sugar can increase insulin responses in those consuming high-sugar
diets compared to low sugar diets.
Sugar increases bacterial fermentation in the colon.


Source: www.nancyappleton.com

Sugar and cancer
Of the over 4 million cancer patients being treated in the U.S. today,
almost none are offered any scientifically guided nutrition therapy
other than being told to "just eat good foods." Many cancer patients
would have a major improvement in their conditions if they controlled
the supply of cancer's preferred fuel: GLUCOSE. By slowing the
cancer's growth, patients make it possible for their immune systems to
catch up to the disease. Controlling one's blood-glucose levels
through diet, exercise, supplements, meditation and prescription drugs
- when necessary - can be one of the most crucial components to a
cancer treatment program. The saying "Sugar feeds cancer" is simple.
The explanation is a little more involved.

German Otto Warburg, Ph.D., the 1931 Nobel laureate in medicine, first
discovered that cancer cells have a fundamentally different energy
metabolism compared to healthy cells. The gist of his Nobel thesis was
this: malignant tumors frequently exhibit an increase in "anaerobic
glycolysis" - a process whereby glucose is used by cancer cells as a
fuel with lactic acid as an anaerobic by-product - compared to normal
tissues.(1) The large amount of lactic acid produced by this
fermentation of glucose from the cancer cells is then transported to
the liver. This conversion of glucose to lactate creates a lower, more
acidic PH in cancerous tissues as well as overall physical fatigue
from lactic acid build-up.(2,3) Therefore, larger tumors tend to
exhibit a more acidic PH.(4)

Hence, cancer therapies should attempt to regulate blood-glucose
levels through diet, supplements, exercise, medication when necessary,
gradual weight loss and stress reduction. Since cancer cells derive
most of their energy from anaerobic glycolysis, the goal is not to
eliminate sugars or carbohydrates entirely from the diet but rather to
control blood-glucose within a narrow range to help starve the cancer
cells and boost immune function.