Refined Sugar: The Corporate Carbohydrate Part 2

Refined Sugar

The leading addictive substance on Earth right now isn’t something smoked, snorted, or put in a syringe-its refined sugar. Refined sugar is destroying our bodies and our country from the inside out, and it’s vastly corrupting the rest of the world. I seriously doubt that if refined sugar were not desecrating almost every food we eat, national healthcare would be such a hot topic right now.

Refined Sugar is proving to be more deadly than ever realized. Refined sugar is linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease (615,651 American deaths in 2007), and increased risk of cancer (565,650 American deaths in 2008), along with a list of other life threatening health conditions.

When something is too sweet to be true, it often is. Sugar is no different. Food manufactures understand the addictive nature of refined sugar to the human body and brain, and they have developed countless ways to sneak it into our food. They cover up the dirty deed with fat free labels and healthy heart promises, while behind the scenes they sneak the sugar in right under our noses. If something has any kind of added corn product (corn syrup, dextrose, corn starch) in the ingredients, it’s a disguise for added sugar. Other names to look for on food labels include fructose, sucrose glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, lactose, malt syrup, rice syrup, maltose, honey, and countless more.

If you’re trying to take control of your life and break away from refined sugar, make sure to start studying food labels to know when sugar is being snuck in to gain your unsuspecting obedience, along with your unwanted weight.

Why Refined Sugar is Poisonous

The main problem with excess refined sugar in the body is the overproduction of insulin by the pancreas in the effort to get blood sugar levels back to normal. Years of constant overproduction of insulin leads to high blood pressure, heart problems, increased risk of diabetes, and gestational diabetes during pregnancy.

According to obesity and Metabolism specialist Frank Suarez, people who become addicted to refined carbohydrates and sugars also start to have problems with their thyroid. The thyroid is important because it controls how quickly the body burns energy, creates proteins, and controls the body’s sensitivity to other hormones. If overproduction of insulin is affecting a person’s thyroid, this will ultimately lead to a slow unresponsive metabolism.

With constant refined sugar corrupting the blood stream countless problems begin to landslide. Ask yourself if any of these ring a bell for you or someone you know.

• Troubled immune system
• Hyperactivity
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Concentration difficulties
• Mood swings
• Eventual drowsiness and decreased activity
• Lower HDL’s (healthy cholesterol)
• Raised LDL’s (harmful cholesterol)
• Hyperglycemia
• Poor bacterial defense
• Kidney problems
• Eventual coronary heart condition
• Copper deficiency
• Problems absorbing calcium and magnesium
• Tooth decay & Gum Disease
• Acidic stomach
• Raised adrenaline levels in children
• Increased speed of the aging process causing wrinkles and gray hair
• Increased total cholesterol
• Weight gain and obesity
• Diabetes
• Osteoporosis
• Decrease in insulin sensitivity
• Decreased glucose tolerance
• Increased systolic blood pressure
• Food allergies
• Free radical formation in the bloodstream
• Toxemia during pregnancy
• Eczema in children
• Pancreas damage
• Hypertension
• Headaches and migraines
• Decrease in cognitive thinking skills
• Blood clots and strokes
• Bacterial fermentation in the colon

That’s only a fraction of the problems to much sugar can cause. For a more extensive list check out http://www.nancyappleton.com/NA144reasons.html

Common Refined Sugars to Look For

Any time sugar has been removed from another source, it goes through a refining process that strips out all health content once provided. Sucrose, fructose, and dextrose, are some of the most common refined sugars found in our foods and drinks.

Sucrose is a refined synthetic sugar derived from sugar cane and sugar beets. The juice from these items is extracted and boiled, until it begins to thicken and start a crystallization process. It later goes through a spinning cycle to remove the syrup leaving raw sugar. The raw sugar is then shipped to a refinery where it is washed and filtered to remove remaining ingredients and color. It is then bleached, crystallized, and packaged. This process removes 90% of the sugars bulk, including all the vitamins and nutrients, predigesting the sugar before it even gets to you. The body has to depend on previous stores of vitamins and minerals normally used for other healthful purposes, to fight the empty refined sugar poisoning the body and weakening the immune system.

Fructose is sugar that is found in fruits and vegetables. When found in its original source, it comes in a healthy dose. But what food manufacturers have done is make their own version of fructose by converting sugar in cornstarch to fructose, and mixing it with pure corn syrup to create high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup is found in almost all western soft drinks and considered one of the major causes of obesity. Because fructose is metabolized in the body’s liver, a diet high in fructose corn syrup is sure to lead to long term liver damage. Large amounts of fructose have also shown to increase triglyceride (fat) levels in the blood, increasing the likelihood of heart disease. British medicine journals have also linked diets high in fructose to Gout, a disease known to lead to acute arthritis.

Dextrose, also known as corn sugar or grape sugar, is sugar processed from starch. It is extracted from rice, wheat, potatoes, corn, honey, and sweet fruits. A list of things often using dextrose include bread, processed meats, cookies, caramel, ice cream, sports drinks (Gatorade), french fries, fish sticks, etc. Dextrose in some form is the sugar most U.S. companies use to add to their foods. As a refined sugar, dextrose represents more empty calories, and contributes heavily to the list of problems refined sugar has brought to the west. Along with other forms of refined sugar, dextrose contributes to tooth decay, osteoporosis, cancer, and heart disease.

Don’t worry about which of these phony sugars is more deadly. Studies indicate the average American consumes 150 pounds of refined sugar per year. It's all poisonous to your system, and at some point, no matter how healthy you might be, high consumption of refined sugar will seriously challenge your health.

Next Up!
Part 2

Healthy Sugar

Natural unrefined raw sugar is not the assassin that its bizarro counterpart bleached white refined sugar is….