It was once thought that fats were the biggest dietary enemy, but many nutritional experts are now agreeing that sugar, in all its forms, is the biggest cause of many of the modern chronic diseases. In addition to the harmful effects that it can have on your body if consumed in excess over a period of time, it is also very addictive. Many addiction experts would say that sugar is the primary addiction that underpins so many other ones. Sugar causes the release of dopamine and opioids and is a fundamental part of the “reward circuit” that is part of all addictive behaviour. It’s readily available in so many forms and products including our popular sugary drink culture. Even coffee which is actually a bitter drink, has become nothing more than adult confectionary when it is laced with syrups and milks and consumed throughout the day as a way of maintaining energy levels.
Children are offered sugar from a very young age and we see it as a major way of showing love to others and ourselves and marking special occasions.
However it is not such a treat for our anatomy and physiology. Our bodies have a really tough time dealing with it. Here is why.
It causes weight gain if eaten in excess. This is not just because it contains a lot of calories, but also because it can cause leptin resistance. This is a hormone that tells you to stop eating, a kind of off button. But sugar switches that off and so you want to keep on eating. Excess sugar is converted directly into fat because it can’t be used.
It increases your cholesterol levels. It is converted into LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, and excess sugar profoundly raises your triglycerides (a type of blood fat).
It can cause an increase in deep belly visceral fat which is associated with inflammation that can harm your arteries, liver and increase your risk of diabetes and heart disease.
It can cause acne because the spikes in blood sugar and insulin cause increased androgen secretion, production of oil and inflammation. In Ayurvedic terms, this is all pitta related and is totally in line with what the Ayurvedic doctors have said for thousands of years.
Sugar increases your risk of being pre-diabetic and of getting type 2 diabetes which has more than doubled over the past 30 years. Blood sugar testing kits can be found in pharmacies and are becoming common household items, surely a sign of our times. Obesity is considered the strongest risk factor for diabetes.
There are strong links between sugar consumption and esophageal cancer, lung cancer, intestinal cancer and endometrial cancer. Obesity, insulin resistance and inflammation are all associated with cancer.
Sugar increases the risk of depression. Swings in blood sugar levels affect the balance of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin and endorphins. Sugar can have a very detrimental impact on mental health.
Sugar can cause wrinkles and cellular aging. A process called glycation occurs, when the sugar in your blood attaches to proteins in your blood and clumps to proteins, especially collagen and elastin. These are the proteins that prevent wrinkling of the skin and also wrinkling of the arteries, the intestinal mucosa and even the respiratory tract. This causes severe problems. This damages your arteries and causes cardiovascular disease. This is why sugar is actually the biggest cause of cardiovascular disease, not fat as previously thought. This is especially true for sugars that are highly processed.
Sugar drains your energy levels because it causes spikes and crashes which lead to exhaustion and stresses the body out. The body remains in a state of emergency because cortisol is constantly being released, leading to adrenal fatigue and the excess sugar is stored as fat.
Sugar intake, especially in the form of fructose can cause non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Sugar in alcohol can also contribute to liver damage and congestion. This is because fructose is broken down by the liver and the excess is stored as glycogen, but when it can store no more, it gets stored as fat in the liver.
Sugar increases the risk of kidney disease.
Sugar causes mineral loss and cavities in your teeth.
High sugar intake is associated with gout.
Excess sugar is linked to impaired memory, an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. Uncontrolled blood sugars that go on for a period of time is also associated with Alzheimer's Disease, and is sometimes referred to as diabetes of the brain.
Sugar tends to drive so many other addictions and getting off the sugar roller coaster can help with all of the other addictions because it helps to curb cravings and calm the brain chemicals.
Things you can do to get off sugar:
Make sure you get enough protein, without enough protein you will start to crave sugar.
Choose whole, unprocessed foods that are in season.
Eat 3 meals a day to keep the blood sugar levels stable and avoid cravings.
Leave 4-6 hours digestion time between breakfast and lunch and lunch and dinner. Leave at least 12 hours between dinner and breakfast.
Avoid snacking, if you snack your body will digest the snack rather than metabolize your fat.
Include all six tastes in your meals, this will leave you feeling balanced and help you to digest your food well. Make sure you are getting bitter, astringent and pungent tastes as well as the ‘comfort foods’ full of sweet, sour and salty tastes.
The bitter, astringent and pungent tastes are found in the leafy green vegetables that control your blood sugar. Two thirds of your plate should contain green vegetables, and then the other third should be carbs and protein. The fiber in the green vegetables attach to the bile which mops up the toxins in our body and helps to move the toxins out of the body in the waste. If you don’t get enough of this fiber, the toxins move back into the blood and cause inflammation.
Chew your food well, this helps with your digestion, improves the brain chemistry and helps to move the toxins out of the body.
Spicy (pungent) foods help to burn the fat. Astringent foods clean and detoxify and bitter foods flush the system with alkaline agents.
Exercise daily to get the blood moving, especially cardio exercise that help the muscles get the sugar out of the blood.
Prepare your own healthy meals at home, if you want to learn some new Ayurvedic cooking tips, I can highly recommend Kate O'Donnell’s cookbooks. They are full of easy to follow seasonal cooking and very, very yummy. There are also some great recipes on the Hale Pule blog.
I have struggled with sugar in the past and know that it is a real trigger food for me. I know that it zaps my energy and makes me want to carry on eating. When I cut sugar right down or out, my mood is much happier, my thinking clearer, my skin is better and my eating is much more controlled. I find white and processed sugars the worst by far. I can feel them clogging up my systems when I cross a threshold. If I do cross the threshold with processed white sugar, I find it hard to stop and so I’ve learned to stop playing with fire. Since learning about Ayurveda and putting the habits and practices in place, it is not such an issue now. My tastes have changed and I’m so much less drawn to it and certainly not addicted like I used to be.
If you feel addicted to sugar and would like help breaking free from it, please contact me. I can help you.