Cookies and frozen yogurt and soda and cake and chocolate and cereal are delicious. But is the taste worth the trouble?
Over the last 20 years we have increased sugar consumption in the U.S. from 26 lbs. to 13 lbs. of sugar, per person, per year! Highly refined sugars are being processed into so many foods. And not just the obvious desserts—sugar hides in many places. Some brands of ketchup have more sugar per ounce than ice cream. Many salad dressings have three times the sugar content of cola drinks. Some non-dairy creamers have more sugar than a chocolate bar. The labeling is often misleading; manufacturers avoid listing sugar as the first ingredient by dividing it into different terminologies like dextrose, corn syrup solids, malt powder, etc. If you add these ingredients together, sugar would become the first ingredient on the product list.
Just a spoonful of sugar…slows your immune system down. Glucose and vitamin C have similar chemical structures, so when sugar levels go up, they compete for one another upon entering the cells. If there is more glucose around, there is going to be less vitamin C allowed into the cell. But suppressing the immune system is just the beginning. Sugar upsets the body's mineral balance, contributes to hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, concentration difficulties, and crankiness, produces a significant rise in triglycerides, reduces helpful high density cholesterol (HDLs), promotes an elevation of harmful cholesterol (LDLs), causes hypoglycemia, diabetes, hypertension, and a weakened defense against bacterial infection, causes kidney damage, increases the risk of coronary heart disease, increases fasting levels of blood glucose, promotes tooth decay, produces an acidic stomach, speeds the aging process, contributes to weight gain and obesity, increases the risk of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, contributes to osteoporosis, decreases glucose tolerance, causes food allergies, causes free radical formation in the bloodstream, overstresses the pancreas, increases the amount of fat in the liver, increases the body's fluid retention, causes hormonal imbalance, and gives you headaches.
Unfortunately, artificial sweeteners such as Splenda, Sweet & Low, Equal are notorious for wreaking even more havoc. The chemical structure of Splenda (sucralose), for example, has more in common with pesticides than it does with food.
Some like it sweet! For those who, like myself, harbor a bonafide sweet tooth, the most promising option on the plate is stevia. Stevia can be used for anything you might use sugar in, including baking…and it is naturally low in carbohydrates. Known in South America as the “sweet herb,” stevia has been used in other cultures for centuries without ill effect. It’s 200–300 times sweeter than sugar, so just a small portion of stevia will sweeten even a strong cup of tea. We’ve known about stevia in the US since 1918, but pressure from the sugar import trade blocked its use as a commodity. Now you can buy it at most health food stores and on the web.
Ultimately, there is never debate over the sweetest things to eat: fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains!
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