Sugar Danger?

To Believe, Or Not To Believe, That Is The Question

You know, there are a lot of warnings out there.  About...everything.  It seems that people, namely professionals, experts, and know-it-alls of every kind, feed off of scaring people.  They need something to make their Ph.D worthwhile; something to be known for.

Well, once you've read all the health-scare articles, seen all the television interviews, bought the books, and listened to the "professionals" over the radio, you must come to the realization that there are only 2 options available.

1.- You can retreat to a sterile bubble of healthy loneliness.
or,
2.- Pray that you've been born with a good amount of common sense, and grab life by the reins; living boldy enough to take every warning with a grain of salt.                             

Really, the only way to know what's true and what's not is to research what you hear.  That doesn't mean spending 6 hours of your life on every single piece of information you ever hear, but that's where common sense comes in.

Lately, high fructose corn syrup has been getting a lot of hype.  I've heard a few things about it, but it got me thinking about sugar.  You know, regular sugar.  The refined, bleached type of sugar that we put in our baked goods and coffee every day.  Well I thought so much about it I decided to do some actual checking-up on it.

I must say, out of all dos and don'ts in the health field, I've found a worthwhile subject in the dangers of consuming sugar.  There are side affects that I wouldn't have dreamed could come from sugar.  The main reason I'm blogging about this right now is because I've personally gained from the information.

I've been subject to what I would call 'temper tantrums' and emotional breakdowns more and more often as of late, as well as unusual clumsiness, the shakes when hungry, and a few other uncharacteristic traits.    I had no idea what was going on. My most recurring thought recently has been, What the heck is wrong with me?  Well I've found the answer.

The Answer to My Craziness!

The book 'Sugar Shock' by Connie Bennett, C.H.H.C., opens by telling the author's horror story of up-and-down symptoms, some of which were the exact same as mine.  This caught my attention, and held it enough for me to finish the book.  Connie lists symptoms that millions of Americans experience every year, often without ever finding the cure.

Bennett lists 44 common symptoms including, mood swings, drowsiness, sleeping too much, difficulty concentrating, joint pains, anxiety, light headedness, heart palpitations, nightmares, digestive problems, peculiar breath, lack of coordination, and 32 others.
Watch this video of Dr. Robert Lustig as he explains the impact that sugar has on your body.





There are speculations about everything, but I've found such a plethera of resources on this particular subject, that I would say there's no denying it.

No denying what?

Well let's be specific.  There's no denying that eating too much sugar causes health problems.  I'm a firm believer in moderation.  For some things, our bodies need sugar.  We can use it to our benefit, but most people's idea of a reasonable amount of sugar is way too much than we should actually be eating.  Our bodies can't handle it, even if we don't realize it.

I used to think that the only reason to avoid sugar was to lose weight.  While it is true that cutting out sweets will make an impact on how much you weigh, I am a pretty thin person, and losing weight has never been one of my top priorities.  However, I had no idea how much of an impact sugar was having on my system until I cut it out of my diet for 2 weeks straight.

The first thing I noticed was that I wasn't waking up in the morning feeling like I'd been hit by a truck in my sleep.  I thought it was normal to feel awful in the mornings, but once I truly felt good when I woke up, I can't imagine going back.  I used to dread going to sleep because I knew my next conscious moments would be ones of pain.  I used to wake up with headaches and an overall grogginess.  Now, I wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go.  I can't believe I never knew what that felt like until only a few weeks ago.

The next of my noticed improvements was my ability to concentrate, and focus on a job.  It's not like I have ADD or something where I sit down to read a book and my mind jumps from one thing to the next, and I can't hone in on what the author is trying to say, it's more general than that.  I noticed that I started being more efficient.  I was getting my work done a few days before the deadline, instead of minutes before.  I remembered to put my keys on the shelf when I walked in the door, which, in turn, saved me tons of would-be searching time. 

One of my greatest benefits though, has been my feeling of self control.  My whacked out, rollercoaster emotions and hormones no longer lead my thoughts.  Actually, I suppose they're not whacked out or rollercoaster-ish anymore.  The last couple of months have really been scaring me.  I would become furious over something small, or let a small, sad story pervade my thoughts to the point of depression.  I knew that I was acting, and feeling out of character, but even so, it was very difficult to identify when it was happening because in the heat of the moment I always felt justified in my ideas.  Thankfully, all that craziness flew out the window once I started cutting out the sweets. 

It wasn't easy, especially at first, to pass up a donut, or soda, or even a piece of candy, but after the first couple days my cravings became less and less.  I've received too many benefits to list on here from making that choice and I'm so glad I did.  Now, my mother is cutting it out of her diet, too, and in the first week she's already been sleeping better, having more energy, and getting fewer headaches.

Moderation, Moderation, Moderation!

Now, I still eat a cookie, or have some candy here and there, but the key is moderation.  It means everything.  For me it means healthy or unhealthy.  Is that what it means for you?  Please, don't take my word for it!  Do some searching of your own, maybe do your own two week experiment without sugar and see how much better you feel.

What physical or emotional ailments are you dealing with?  What would it be like to have those minimized or gone?  Wouldn't it be nice to be in control of yourself?