While you won’t fall down ill by eating a pastry or treat filled with sugar occasionally, sugar becomes the evil villain by the sheer amount people consume. Sugar is in almost everything that’s processed. It’s part of every holiday and daily life. Pick up a bottle of ketchup and check it. It contains sugar. That means if you eat a burger with ketchup, you’re adding sugar to your diet. Most bottled salad dressings contain sugar, so does cereal, fruit drinks, yogurt with added fruit and etc. Sugar is highly addictive, which is why it’s often so hard to give it up to lose weight.
Why do people crave sugar?
There’s a lot of reasons that people crave sugar. Some anthropologists believe man was created specifically to crave it, since fruits and vegetables that are sweet are not poisonous, making it easier to recognize edible plants. One thing is certain, sugar does stimulate the opioid receptors—which trigger the feeling of pleasure. Food manufacturers know that people crave sugar. In fact, the soft drink industry grew large due to that. After all, most soft drinks are nothing more than sparkling water, a little flavoring and lots of sugar.
Don’t listen to commercials that say sugar is natural, so it’s healthy.
Sure, sugar does exist naturally, but so do poisonous plants. In the animal world, only animals that consume sugar have dental problems. Bears have cavities. Bears eat honey and even though it’s natural and extremely healthy when compared to other forms of sugar, it’s still sugar. Not only does sugar cause dental problems, it contributes to obesity, increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes, accelerates aging and even affects the immune system.
One of the most promoted types of sugar isn’t natural at all.
You may have seen those commercials touting high fructose corn syrup—HFCS—that say it’s a natural product, so it must be healthy. It’s not. In fact, it’s worse than regular table sugar and it’s in everything, because it’s cheap. It reacts differently in the body increasing your appetite and the potential for heart disease, dementia and damage to the lining of the stomach.
- Sugar is connected to increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, obesity, aging, reduced immune functioning and mental functioning. It increases gum disease and promotes stress.
- Don’t be fooled by the name. There are many different names for sugar, HFCS, dextrose, sucrose, beet sugar, cane sugar, maltose, fructose, dextrose and cane sugar. Some manufacturers use several types, so the ingredient appears lower on the level, but would be at the top if added together.
- Sugar interferes with the sense of taste, making naturally sweet foods, like fruit, taste less sweet. If you give up sugar for a while, you’ll be amazed at how good natural foods really taste.
- Food with added sugar may be worse for those with high blood pressure. Some studies show that it causes the numbers to rise higher than added salt does.
For more information, contact us today at Studio Fit Richmond Hill