In today’s world, sugar is viewed as toxic and harmful to the human body. Although true when consumed without moderation, sugar is extremely vital to one’s overall well-being. With the media encouraging sugar-restrictive diets, Americans are misled into believing this sweet substance is the enemy and eliminating it is the solution for reaching weight loss goals. However, this is not the case. Sugar, through the consumption of natural and unprocessed foods, is essential in order to sustain optimal fitness. Although sugar is pernicious to the body, cutting glucose completely out of a diet is not the solution to a healthier lifestyle. The health conscious community never fails to reveal the flaws in reports made by dietitians and nutritionists that advise the limitations of certain foods. Food, by definition, is any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink, in order to maintain life and growth. The meals we mistake for actual food come in unnatural forms, often processed and overall …show more content…
The negative effects portrayed in these researches often forget to mention the health benefits of real whole foods infused with natural sugars. In “The Bitter Truth about Sugar and its Effects on Our Health,” Elizabeth Richards claims sugar is more addictive than cocaine. “Recent research with rats suggests that sugar is addictive and stimulates the brain’s reward centers even more robustly that cocaine” (Richards). The body’s negative response of withdrawal encouraging sugar-free diets can lead to stress, drowsiness and irregular levels of cortisol. This may be a short-term weight loss solution, nonetheless, removing sugar from a diet completely will only generate stronger cravings. “Sugar in the form of glucose is the preferred and most efficient fuel source” (Konie). The response is the body’s way of telling the brain it needs
. . . In this issue of the JCI [Journal of Clinical Investigation], Stanhope and colleagues demonstrate that consumption of fructose-sweetened but not glucose-sweetened beverages for 10 weeks increases de novo lipid synthesis, promotes dyslipidemia, impairs insulin sensitivity, and increases visceral adiposity in overweight or obese adults” (Abstract). Fructose sweetener is another way to say high fructose corn syrup. This study proved that fructose sweetened drinks caused harm to the body and signaled a starting point for diseases such as metabolic syndrome, obesity, insulin difficulties, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and ultimately coronary heart disease. Not only does high fructose cause stress on the body, but fructose can also cause serious
When the 1970s introduced High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), a cheap sweetener alternative to sucrose in a fructose-glucose liquid form (fifty five percent fructose, forty two percent glucose, and three percent saccharides), it brought extensive numbers of health problems with it (Bray, 2004 & Johnson, 2010 ). Prior to the 70’s, on average, sugar contributed to four percent of daily caloric intake, however over the past four and a half decades, this statistic has increased to whopping sixteen percent, leading some scientist to consider it an “addiction” as they observe the sugar substitute wreak havoc on humans’ bodies worldwide (Butler, 2011). Along with hooking those who indulge sweets to it, High Fructose Corn Syrup also leads to obesity:
Why do we need it? Medical term of sugar is glucose, which we get from food and our liver. To make it easier to understand, glucose it a fuel needed to produce an energythat helps body tissues to build up our muscles. There is number of risk factors of diabetes already known for society, such as: family history, genetics, age, geography.
Dr. Lustig’s main focus throughout the presentation was the effects of fructose on the epidemic of obesity. He explains how we as a society place so much stress on fat intake and calories in versus calories out that we tend to neglect what is actually in our food. With much research, it has been determined that fructose does, in turn have an effect on the obesity epidemic. Throughout the lecture, many examples from this research show our biochemical response to our modern diets and are used to explain Dr. Lustig’s point of fructose poisoning.
Lustig (2012) explains and suggests the following: Authorities consider sugar as ‘empty calories’ but there is nothing empty about these calories. A growing body of scientific evidence is showing that fructose can trigger processes that lead to liver toxicity and a host of other chronic diseases… they [Government] must consider limiting fructose and its main delivery vehicles, the added sugars HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup) and sucrose, which pose dangers to individuals and to society as a whole. (p.28) Another process that occurs in the body is that, “sugar dampens the suppression of the hormone ghrelin, which signals hunger to the brain…interferes with the normal transport and signaling of the hormone leptin, which helps to produce the feeling of satiety…and it reduces dopamine signaling in the brain’s reward center” (Lustig, 2012, p. 28). Though these are only a few examples and there are many more such as sugar feeding cancer cells, it should give you a basic understanding of just how bad sugar is for the
Sugar can contribute to a lot of unnecessary weight gain, lethargy, and illnesses such as diabetes. Those were not the kind of problems I needed in life. I researched the sugar detox. A quick internet search told me that I had my work cut out for me. Not only would I have to get rid of my snacks, I’d also have to give up on my pastas and wine.
In order to prevent the negative effects that come with sugar, people need to slow down on consuming it so
Sugar, which is in almost everything, is one of the biggest problems. As noted on, “Is Sugar Toxic”, Dr. Robert Lustig, the lead researcher says sugar links to a number of diseases from obesity to heart disease. He also states that 75% of these are preventable. Studies have shown that when we consume sugar, it’s equivalent to when someone does cocaine. Another study by Dr. Cantley has shown that sugar can help cancerous cells grow and multiply.
According to Robin Konie’s article, sugar is the body’s preferred and most easily accessible fuel source. Although sugar is one way to get the energy that our bodies need to function, there are other ways to get the energy we need. There are many people who experience “sensations of clarity, easy weight loss, when turning to a no-sugar or low-carb diet” (Konie). These people’s bodies using adrenaline and cortisol for energy.
In the article it reads, “...a sugar-soaked diet can lead to metabolic syndrome and from there to diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.” (421). By saying this the author effectively reminds us of the seriousness behind this type of dieting by listing, and naming, such malignant
The French and Indian War left England with a debt of £130,000,000. To help pay off the debt Britain set up taxes, to collect money, on frequently used products by the colonists. The Molasses Act put a six pence tax on every gallon of molasses. The colonists thought this was a lot of money to pay so they did everything to avoid it. This act was not really enforced and the colonists did not really obey this act.
Sugar especially is the culprit when it comes to health problems from food. Sugars are addictive empty calories providing no nutritional value thus causing you to over eat and intake excess calories which will turn into fat. Studies even show that the consumption of sugar can cause endorphins to be released into the brain as a reward system or to feel good from the sugar consumed, which causes you to eat more. It is
Did you know that 60% of adults and one in four children in Australia are overweight or obese, making us one of the most overweight developed nations? Almost half of our population comsumes a sugary drink each day. I believe that it is about time we do something about this. With sugary drinks and weight related health problems closely linked, leading experts from the cancer Council, diabities Australia and the Heart foundation say the sugar tax would be a great solution.
Processed foods and beverages are the biggest sources of added sugar (and High fructose) in the diet. Sugar is very unhealthy and can have serious adverse effects on metabolism when consumed in excess. Sugar contains a lot of calories, with no essential nutrients. It also causes tooth decay by feeding the harmful bacteria in the mouth. For people who are inactive and eat a processed food, large amounts of fructose from added sugars get turned into fat in the liver.
Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, which include soft drinks, fruit drinks, ice tea, energy and vitamin water drinks across the globe. Regular consumption of sugary sweetened beverages have been associated with weight gain, obesity and diabetes. The role of sugary sweetened beverages in the development of related chronic metabole diseases such as metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, has not been quantitatively reviewed . How is consuming sugary beverages harmful to the body ?