A Proactive Guide to Vibrant Living through Balanced Nutrition

40 Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health

• Sugar will suppress the immune system.
• Sugar contributes to a weakened defense against bacterial infection.
• Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
• Sugar can upset the body’s mineral balance.
• Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
• Sugar can cause colon cancer, with an increased risk in women.
• Sugar can increase fasting levels of blood glucose.
• Sugar can speed the aging process causing wrinkles and gray hair.
• Sugar increases the risk of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
• Sugar can cause candidiasis - overgrowth of yeast and fungus.
• Sugar leads to decreased glucose tolerance.
• Sugar causes food allergies.
• Sugar can overstress the pancreas causing damage.
• Sugar can cause depression.
• Sugar increases bacterial fermentation in the colon.
• Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance.
• Sugar can increase platelet stickiness, increasing the risk of blood clots.
• Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.
• Sugar can cause hypertension.
• Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries.
• Sugar can cause nearsightedness (myopia).
• Sugar can cause constipation.
• Sugar can increase the body's fluid retention.
• Sugar can lead to alcoholism.
• Sugar can cause a raw, inflamed intestinal tract in sensitive persons.
• Sugar can cause arthritis.
• Sugar can cause asthma.
• Sugar can produce an acid stomach.
• Sugar can be a risk factor in gall bladder cancer.
• Sugar may lead to cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate and rectum.
• Sugar may lead to chromium or copper deficiency.
• Sugar can elevate harmful cholesterol (LDL).
• Sugar can reduce helpful cholesterol (HDL).
• Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, focus difficulty and irritability.
• Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity.
• Sugar can contribute to eczema.
• Sugar contributes to acid saliva.
• Sugar contributes to osteoporosis.
• Sugar can cause varicose veins.
• Sugar can cause appendicitis.

And if you're thinking of replacing refined sugar with NutraSweet-TM, don't! Aspartame (known by trademarked names such as NutraSweet-TM or Equal-TM) is a potentially deadly poison. 85% of all complaints registered with the FDA concern aspartame's adverse reactions, including seventy-three different symptoms and five deaths. Among the symptoms reported are dizziness, memory loss, headaches, blurred vision, insomnia, fatigue, ringing in ears, nausea, heart palpitations, sugar cravings, and muscle and joint pain. Aspartame depletes nutrients in the body, specifically chromium, and will cause sugar cravings.

The components of aspartame are phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol. Phenylalanine is an amino acid that is necessary for proper nutrition; however, when manipulated in a laboratory setting with no balancing neutral amino acids, such as valine, the effects can be deadly. Phenylalanine also competes for receptor sites in the brain with the serotonin precursor and amino acid, tryptophan. The subsequent low levels of serotonin then trigger sugar cravings. Aspartic acid affects the central nervous system in high concentrations. Methanol is wood alcohol and is specifically toxic to the optic nerve causing blindness. How much sense does it make for a diabetic to use sugar free products that almost always contain aspartame? Could it be that retinal neuropathy is not due to the diabetic issue, but to this particular food additive/sweetener? In the presence of heat (such as the 98.6o temperature of the body) methanol metabolizes into formaldehyde and formic acid, both known carcinogens. These toxins can accumulate slowly in the body without detection. Not only is formaldehyde a component of aspartame, it is also contained in cleaning supplies, flooring, carpet, shopping malls, permanent press fabrics, shoulder pads, etc. These toxins can become quite a burden on the body as they accumulate and stall in the detoxification pathways of the body. Look for more on this in the cleansing chapter.

Aspartame toxicity is commonly misdiagnosed as many other ailments because of the similarity of symptoms. Alzheimer's, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, and others can all resemble the effects of aspartame toxicity.

I strongly encourage you to read the labels of any diet beverages or ‘sugar-free' foods. If they contain aspartame, NutraSweetTM or Equal™, throw them away or better yet, return them to the store for a refund, insisting that your grocer carry products without aspartame. You will now have to look very closely to find this additive. It used to be displayed very proudly on the front of the package; but due to increased public awareness of the hazards of aspartame, it can now be found on the back in very small letters. Mary Nash Stoddard, founder of the Aspartame Consumer Safety Network, has done an immense amount of research work in her fight against G.D. Searle, the aspartame manufacturer. Her compilation work “The Deadly Deception” is an astonishing, eye-opening plethora of information.*

*Stoddard, Mary Nash. “The Deadly Deception,” 1996. Dallas, TX.

Sample Recipe

Cinnamon Muffins

• 1/4 c. grape seed oil, unflavored
• 1/2 c. honey or rice syrup
• 1 c. applesauce, unsweetened or 1 large banana, ripe, mashed
  
• 1 1/2 c. spelt or whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, ground
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 c. raisins
• 1/2 c. pecans or walnuts