The Dangers Of Sugar

I've written before about the dangers of corn syrup, and how, because of its low cost, it is found as a sweetner in thousands of supermarket products. Along comes 60 Minutes and does a story on the dangers of sugar, and after viewing it I will definitely become more conscious of the sugar content in the items I eat. The bottom line of the 60 Minutes story is that sugar is toxic. That sounds like an exaggeration. How can sugar kill you? Slowly, is the answer. It will lead to weight gain, high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease, just to mention the top killers of Americans. It's also addictive. Try to cut sugar out of your diet completely and you will likely experience headaches, flu like symptoms and night sweats. If you do kick the habit you will also find that the desire for alcohol decreases because alcohol is full of sugar!

Sugar makes you fat, which will cause you to develop high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes, any of which can kill you. So why do we continue to eat it? It tastes good, and since none of these diseases develop overnight, most people feel they can control their sugar intake and thus their possibility of developing one of these diseases. Statistics show otherwise. All these diseases are increasing, with diabetes topping the list. Younger and younger people are developing the disease, and many Type 2 diabetics are diagnosed as early as 12 years old. In 20 years half our population will have diabetes. And we'll all be paying for it, one way or another.

The culprit is soda, fast food, snacks like crackers, cookies and cakes, and juice. Yes, juice is usually loaded with additional sugar. You must become a label reader, and even if you read labels you may not be aware of all the hidden sugar in packaged products. Try to find a cereal or cracker without sugar. They're out there, but hard to find.

Most of us know that the healthiest diet is a natural diet. Ron and I knew Nathan Pritikin many years ago, and learned through his program how to eat to stay healthy. Of course his program was difficult to follow, but you can't argue with the results. 80% of those on high blood pressure medication that came to his in patient program were off their medication in 6 weeks. Type 2 diabetics reduced their insulin intake dramatically. And heart patients were also much improved. Years ago, before the advent of McDonald's, sodas and packaged snack food, Type 2 diabetes was a rareity. High blood pressure was out there, but the percentage of those who had it was so much less.

Am I giving up sugar? No, I'm not even going to try. But I am going to pay close attention to labels, especially on cereal, breads and crackers. I know there are many options out there and I will try to find products with little or no sugar. To quote my mother, "Everything in moderation." I guess I'll have to give up my Easter Peeps. Darn, one of my favorite things to eat.