Avoid white sugar & simple carbs if at all possible
May 16, 2007
We all know sugar is bad for us right? But why is it really bad? We all know it makes your teeth rot & causes us to gain weight, but is that really it?
Recently I read You Are What You Eat
If you have been reading my blog regularly you will know I am a big fan of You Are What You Eat. In fact, I even gave it to my mom for Mother’s Day. She loves the book too & was very excited & happy to have such an easy to read, valuable source of info at hand. I am sure it will make the rounds in my family, or maybe even another copy or two will be purchased. My sister in law suffers from eczema, and there is a whole section in there on that as well.
But I digress. Kevin Trudeau is controversial to say the least. If you read the reviews of his books on Chapters.ca or Amazon you will see that many, while not bad, are less than stellar. I will withhold judgment on Natural Cures until I have finished, but I would say it’s at least worth getting from the library.
The one thing I have noticed so far is that there are alot of similar points in the two books. To me, hearing Kevin say something Dr McKeith also said just gives him more credence. One of the most noticeable points for me was they both strongly recommend avoiding white sugar.
Sugar does all of the things we all know, sure, but that’s not the worst of it. Sugar, especially the refined white variety we put in coffee etc, has virtually no nutritional value. Worse, it causes your insulin levels to spike. Some of you will have heard of the glycemic index, the theory behind of which is that foods that cause insulin spikes will cause you to gain weight, and, taken to the extreme, lead to type 2 (the kind you do to yourself)diabetes.
Whats so bad about insulin spikes? Well, this phenomenon is what causes you to “crash” a few hours after a high carb meal (Chinese anyone?). White sugar has the same effect (insulin spikes) as simple refined carbs such as white bread, white pasta, white rice, baked goods such as donuts, etc, but is even worse since it has zero nutritional value–the others at least have some (well maybe not the donuts).
When you “crash” this is your insulin levels (or more properly, your blood sugar levels), dropping after a spike. Insulin regulates blood sugar & if your blood sugar is high after a high carb/sugary meal, insulin levels have to rise to counteract this. This is when you feel sleepy or even hungry again. This is why people joke about being hungry an hour after a big Chinese meal. You are not really hungry, but because your insulin levels have dropped from their unnatural peak, you feel hungry, sluggish, & maybe lightheaded. Many will often have a snack, and this leads to overeating (since you are not really hungry) & weight gain. This is why carbs are often viewed as “bad” nowadays & hence the popularity of diets like Atkins.
If this cycle (simple carbs/sugary food intake, insulin spikes) continues, eventually your body will become insulin resistant—aka type 2 diabetes. Your pancreas will not be able to produce enough insulin, or your body will have become so tolerant to high levels of it, that it no longer has the needed effect: regulation of blood sugar.
This vicious cycle is also addictive. A diet high in sugary foods will knock your blood sugar levels out of balance, and this will cause cravings for…you guessed it, more sugar. Any coincidence it’s a white powder…? Once your body has more sugar in it than it can deal with, it will be stored in the liver as glycogen. If there is more than your liver can deal with, it becomes fat. Sugar also slows your metabolism, so not only do you have more fat, but you actually burn calories at a slower rate, a negative double whammy.
Additionally, white sugar is highly processed & grown with chemicals. There is nothing “live” about it, so how can it be good for you?In short, sugar is the worst of the simple refined carbs because it has all the bad & none of the good.
So what to do? Well, brown sugar isn’t any better, it’s just white sugar with molasses in it. And also stay away from artificial sweeteners. They are not natural, are made from chemicals, & are linked to many health problems & even some diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Kevin recommends a few things, such as pure organic, unpasteurized honey, stevia, evaporated cane juice, or turbinado sugar, the granulated juice of raw sugar cane. Make sure it’s organic & unpasteurized as the pasteurization process kills pretty much all of the good things in any food. I put away my sugar bowl yesterday & bought some honey.
Dr McKeith has many suggestions, from small to large changes you can make to kick the sugar habit if you are already addicted (an how to find out if you are). In fact, she has too many to list here. Buy or get her book from the library & prepare to go cold turkey!
Also, try to avoid or limit simple refined carbs. Fiber is one of the best ways to counteract blood sugar spikes as it slows digestion of food and “flattens out” the spikes. This is why brown bread, brown rice & whole wheat pasta are better choices.
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