Why Sugar is Evil

Ask any kid what their favorite food in the world happens to be.  Nine out of 10 will say brownies, cookies, candy, chocolates, or anything with sugar in it.  And their dream would be to have a candy store in their bedroom.  Why? Because sugar is a beautiful thing.  Our body craves it because it’s good for our body.  You didn’t expect that turn of events, did you?

Why we Like Sugar

Sugar is good because it gives us energy, fast.  A ‘sugar high’ occurs just moments after we ingest it, because our body can process it so quickly for energy.  When eaten with other foods, sugar is used for metabolism, allowing all other nutrients to be stored as fat, which our body also loves. 

In an evolutionary sense, sugar is our friend.  However, what I am talking about here is the natural sugar found in whole fruits and vegetables that contains fibers, vitamins, and important minerals.  What we have today is refined white sugar.

Why Modern Sugar is Bad

In today’s society, white sugar is evil!  It is added to everything, and sometimes, ingesting it can seem to be beyond our control.  It causes tooth decay, is linked to diabetes, and makes children rowdy and annoying.  The worst of this depressing news is that it makes us fat! 

How?  Because it is refined.  We have refined white sugar, which basically means it is stripped of all vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, like fiber and whole grains.  We process sugars in order to get pure sucrose used for sweetenings and additives in foods.  When ingested, the refined sugar causes a sharp spike in insulin levels.  High insulin means higher bad cholesterol, lower good cholesterol, and a propensity for fat storage! 

Why You Crave Dessert

Extended periods of high insulin levels messes up our pancreas (which secretes different hormones and digestive fluids), and can lead to many other problems later in life.  When our blood sugar is high, our body tells our pancreas to secret insulin.  Everything that we don’t immediately use for energy is then stored as fat.  One good way to gain fat quickly is to eat sugar at the end of every meal.  The bad news is that you probably already do.  The sweet taste tells your body: the meal is over.  Now store this food as fat!  This is why we always crave something sweet after eating a big meal.

If you want to opt for a healthier diet, opt out of eating all processed sugars. That means no white sugar.  Never add white sugar to cereals, oatmeal, or coffee.  Opt for healthier natural sweeteners, like honey or brown sugar. 

How to Stop Eating White Sugar

Second, replace your cravings for sweets with whole carbohydrate sources.  Lactase in milk and fructose in fruits are much healthier forms of sweets because they come with healthy vitamins, minerals, fibers, and often have some amino acids and healthy fats.  Drinking a glass of milk provides enough lactase to quench the craving for a chocolate desert; it’s also jam-packed with protein to promote muscle growth.  Bananas, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries are great additions to cereal and oatmeal as well.

If you can’t skip the chocolate and sweets just yet, pick out a dark chocolate that is high in coco.  The higher the coco percentage, the healthier the chocolate.  A smaller amount of dark chocolate will help curb your craving more than a large amount of milk chocolate.

The Future of Sugar

The average person in America consumes three pounds of sugar per week in their diet.  Just 100 years ago, the average American ate less than half that amount.  Companies are increasing the sugar in their food products because it’s easier to sell at the supermarket if it tastes sweet.  You can avoid these packaged products and opt for natural foods, which will automatically decrease your weight and provide you with better nutrition in the long run.