The average American—this includes every man, woman, and child—consumes 42 teaspoons of sugar each day. If the sugar were taken in a natural form, this would amount to over 90 feet of sugar cane to chew. Most people are unaware of the amounts of sugar found in ordinary pastries, desserts, drinks, and snack foods. Listed below are a few of the common foods and the actual amounts of sugar hidden in them.
A high sugar intake is implicated in elevation of the serum lipoprotein, which is just as bad, if not worse, than high cholesterol in the production of heart disease. Sugar consumption has also been associated with dental caries, gallbladder disease, diabetes, acne, and indigestion. In the book Counsels on Diet and Foods, page 321, the following statement appears: “The less of sweet foods… eaten, the better; these cause disturbances in the stomach, and produce impatience and irritability in those who accustom themselves to their use.”
Another important fact about sugar has to do with disease resistance. The white blood cells with segmented nuclei increase in numbers in the bloodstream when the body has a bacterial infection. These cells destroy bacteria. They are the body’s soldiers. However, when the blood sugar level goes up, these cells get sluggish and cannot destroy as many bacteria.
Health Effects of Sugar
- Sugar affects the health of the tooth, causing decay.
- Sugar lowers one’s resistance to disease.
- Sugar is a concentrated food, with lots of calories, with little or no other nutritive value, contributing to overweight.
- High sugar intake is associated with CHD and mature-onset diabetes.
- High sugar intake can cause liver damage, indistinguishable from liver damage due to alcoholism.
- High sugar along with other low residue foods promotes constipation.
- High sugar intake can cause vitamin B deficiencies, having an effect upon emotions and one’s mental health.
- Some nutritionists feel that a high sugar intake is responsible for a malfunctioning appestat, contributing to overweight.
- High sugar intake “clogs the system” resulting in mental depression similar to a depressant, causing sleepiness and mental confusion.
- Do not put sugar on the table. Try using raisins, dates, or some other fruit for a natural sweetener instead of sugar.
- Use dark brown sugar, molasses, honey, and dried fruits with as little white or raw sugar as possible. Be sparing with all concentrated sweets.
- When serving a dessert high in calories, plan for it in the meal by serving fewer calories in the main part of the meal.
- Build up a supply of recipes using little or no sugar. In many desserts the quantity of sugar used can be cut in half, and the dessert will be acceptable.
- Buy no sugar-coated breakfast food.
- Avoid desserts that use large quantities of milk, sugar, and eggs together (like puddings).
- Learn to make desserts without the use of soda.
- Let desserts be a special treat—not served every day of the week!
- Use unsweetened fruit juices rather than heavily sugared ones.
- Many fruit recipes do not need any sugar at all. Use more fresh fruit and frozen fruit without large amounts of sugar added. If you buy canned fruit, purchase it with light syrup rather than heavy syrup. Well prepared fruit dishes can take the place of the concentrated, refined sweets so freely eaten by children (and adults).
- Take sweet foods chiefly at the end of a meal.
- Do not eat candy or other sweets between meals.
- Avoid large amounts of sugar and milk in combination for they are likely to cause fermentation (ice cream).
- If today’s diet is to provide thiamine and niacin as the wholesome diet of a former era, we will have to give as hard a look at sugar as we did at roller-milled white flour. We are eating huge amounts of sugar in candy, desserts, breakfast sweets, and beverages that have no nutritional significance, only extra calories.
Keep the total amount of sugar in the diet low, and take only small amounts of concentrated sweets.
READ LABELS—Use unrefined fiber—not processed.
For more information contact:
Uchee Pines Lifestyle Center
30 Uchee Pines Road #75
Seale, Alabama 36875
Tel. 334-855-4764
www.ucheepines.org