Not So Sweet

3.25

Sugar is everywhere in our culture. On average, we've gone from consuming several pounds a year per person 200+ years ago, to over 100 pounds a year each, today. Huge consumer product groups like snacks and sodas and breakfast cereals are chocked full of sugar. Why? The refined sucrose and fructose in sugar is truly addicting, with similar effects on our brains as cocaine and other addictive drugs. Getting more raises the threshold of response and we need more to get the same 'benefit.'

And what do we get for this addiction? Not only obesity, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, but sugar also speeds aging, stresses our liver the same way alcohol does, and interrupts our natural immune responses. And sugar literally feeds the growth and replication of cancer cells. Uhg. Beyond that, sugar in our diet increases inflammation response in our metabolism, and new studies are showing a strong relationship between elevated fructose in our diet and the development of Alzheimer's disease.

Natural sugars are better than refined sugars, but both are still concentrated sucrose:

• Today's refined white sugar often comes from beet sugar
• Cane sugar comes from sugar cane and has been a growing staple of western culture for centuries
• High fructose corn syrup is highly-refined corn syrup, it is significantly cheaper than other sugar sweeteners, and it has even worse health impacts
• Natural sugars come from raw, unrefined or lightly-refined sources, like honey, maple syrup, and agave nectar.
• Natural sugars also come from fruit, and even those add to our overall sugar load

So what is the solution to the sugar addiction and the health trauma that results? Moderation. Do we need to eliminate sugar? No, not all of it - just reduce refined sugar intake and keep it under control. The American Heart Assn says no more than 100 calories from refined sugars per day for women, and no more than 150 calories per day for men.

Keeping sweeteners to natural forms like honey is best, or minimally-refined ones like maple syrup or agave nectar. The point with any sweeteners, though, is moderation. Without moderation in our sweeteners, we can develop a sugar addiction (remember, it eventually takes more and more sugar to get the same amount of satisfaction.) With moderation, we find simple enjoyment from the sweetness of fruit and the occasional sweet treat, and they're easy to walk away from.

Take a hard look at your sugar habits and sweet expectations. If you are overcome with an uncontrollable desire for sweets, start today to detox from sugar and give moderation a try.

By the Way

Fruit sugars are much healthier than any prepared sugars or refined sweeteners, but these are sugars just the same. The only redeeming quality of getting sugar from whole fruit is the fiber and carbohydrates from the fruit, which help our bodies metabolize and use the sucrose with less ill-effects.