With sugar being so sweet and delicious (recent memories of the holidays, anyone?), it’s hard to remember the harm that it presents to our health. I found a great article on Natural News which revisits the dangers of sugar to our bodies and brings awareness to the many times a day that we may encounter sugar in our food.
Cereal, fruit drinks, pop, dressings, sauces, bread, baked goods, candy- it’s no wonder we can hardly fight a battle against sugar in our diets. It’s everywhere, and the Natural News article is the first place I’ve ever seen it noted as a poison. According to the article, all of our sugar intake is really putting a strain on our immune systems; not to mention having an overall degenerative effect on the body.
White (refined) sugar offers absolutely no vitamins or nutrients, so it can only be costly for our body to process. In fact, sugar eventually negatively affects every organ as the work of processing it (digesting, detoxifying, and eliminating) drains the body of true vitamins and minerals. In addition, the intake of so much sugar creates an overly acidic condition in the body, thus requiring even more vitamins and minerals as the body tries to correct this imbalance.
Another interesting sidenote regarding the negative affects on the body is that sugar as a plain diet will kill you. Even water will last the body for some time, but sugar and water will not last a person long. Another excellent point to consider- sugar rots out human teeth. What exactly, then, is happening to the rest of the organs that cannot so easily be seen?
Sugar also creates and feeds many diseases in the human body. Early aging, tooth decay, obesity, and organ damage are just a few of the many issues to which sugar can contribute. As hard as it is to do, it’s really best to try to eliminate it from the diet.
Luckily, there are healthier, less processed sweetener options such as stevia, pure maple syrup, and raw honey. I’ll make sure to post some recipes using these sweeteners in the “Sunday Chef” section in case you’d like to try any. It can seem difficult, but is not impossible to find sweet tooth satisfaction with some good recipes. It’s certainly a challenge, one that I’m working on myself, but truly worthwhile for our body’s sake!
