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Dr. Corinne: The Harmful Effects of Sugar, and How to Detox From It Safely-Part 1

Dr. Corinne Weaver : Jan 10, 2020
DrCorinneWeaver.com

There have been many misconceptions on what causes cardiovascular disease, the role in cholesterol, and what foods help or harm heart health. Things have been cleared up! Saturated fat is not the culprit. Sugar is!

Now that the holidays are over. I am feeling the need to do a sugar detox. Prior years I have had willpower but for some reason this year I indulged more. Now, I am feeling the effects. How many of you indulged like I did? Hard to admit but I have been feeling so good lately that I thought cheating would be ok. Sometimes it doesn't hit you till months later. Well it hit me, and I can tell sugar is the enemy. (Image: Pixabay)

Sugar comes in many forms beyond the white powder we often associate it as. Some are claimed to be better than others and some have names you wouldn't even recognize on an ingredient label. The whole subject of sugar in the health industry is confusing!

"It's okay in moderation."

"Your body isn't designed to digest sugars."

"Sugar-free products are always healthy."

"Artificial sweeteners are worse."

"You need sugar for energy."

"Sugar is addictive."

All of these are common claims to do with sugar, opposing one another. Yet one thing is for certain: We are consuming more sugar in our diets than we EVER have before.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the average American consumes 150-170 pounds of refined sugars per year! Compare this to the 4-6 pound yearly consumption of the early 1800's or even the high yearly 90 pound consumption of the 1900's.

You're probably thinking that can't be right...That's A LOT of sugar!

That figure is correct - 150 to 170 pounds a year indeed. That translates to 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 pound, or 30-60 teaspoons, of sugar PER DAY. It's hard to believe you're capable of that, but keep in mind, you are not just consuming sugar in your coffee and baked goods. It is hidden in the majority of foods you probably eat rather regularly.

Sugar is added into foods you wouldn't expect.

Some include:

Ketchup

BBQ sauces

Tomato Sauces

Marinades

Salad Dressings

Yogurts

Breads

Protein Bars

Peanut Butter

Soups

Canned fruits

Cereals

Crackers

Oatmeal

Frozen Dinners

And so many more

This list does not include the obvious culprits of soda, cookies, and ice cream, but these are just some (of the many!) surprising ways sugar sneaks into our diets.

Did any of these particularly surprise you?!

One of the main reasons you may not recognize all the sugar you have in your diet is because it very rarely will say "sugar" on the ingredient lists of the food you buy.

Instead you may see:

Dextrose

Maltose

Glucose

Fructose

Corn Syrup

High Fructose Corn Syrup

Corn Sweetener

Sucrose

Sorbitol

Sorghum syrup

Agave nectar

Carbitol

Evaporated Cane Juice

Galactose

Inversol

Rice malt

Sorbitol

Nectars

As I'm sure you would guess... There are even more than what I included on this list. A few tips in identifying sugars is looking for words with "ose" or "ides" ending and examining the entire ingredients list as often there are more than one type of sugar in a product.

If sugar is already in all the food we eat, then why should we care? It's not like EVERYONE is sick, right? The problem with excessive sugar consumption is that most health issues do not manifest immediately and if they do, they are not usually recognized as being caused by our diets.

Mental illness and behavioral problems are often attributed to other sources beyond diet. Allergies, arthritis, and migraines are explained by our environment, stress levels, and response to medication. Immune disorders, degenerative diseases, diabetes, and cancer take time to diagnose and most people aren't grabbing their food journals at this point to search for the connection. However, there is more research being conducted on the effects of sugar on human health by the day.

Let me tell you... It's not looking too great for sugar's case.

To best understand how sugar is so dangerous, you must first know what it is made of. Before sugar leaves the digestive tract it is composed of two simple sugars, glucose and fructose. Glucose is an important energy source and easy to obtain. If we are not consuming it in our diets, our bodies will produce it. Simple as that.

However, fructose is different. Our bodies do not produce much of it and quite frankly, there is no need for it to do so. In fact, there is no proven physiological need for fructose at all.

The relationship of sugar and insulin resistance has become a crucial topic of discussion. Insulin is one of the most important hormones in our bodies. It is responsible for directing glucose into cells to be used for energy. However, when our cells no longer respond to insulin, our body receives the message that it needs to produce more. In response, the pancreas makes more insulin. But over time, the pancreas is unable to keep up with the demand and blood sugar is no longer able to be maintained. This is known as insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance is thought to be a big contributor to many diseases, including but not limited to: type II diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease. One score that is important for you to know is your HOMA-IR score. Next time you have your blood checked ask your doctor if they can run your fasting glucose and fasting insulin. To find your score multiply your fasting glucose and fasting insulin and divide that number by 405. You want your number to be 1 or less. If your number is above 1.9 then you are insulin resistance and if that number is above 2.9 you have a major problem. HOMA-IR tells you how much insulin your body needs to keep your blood sugar levels in check.

Even after these diseases develop, the elevated blood sugar remains an ongoing problem. This excess is often the reason people with these illness experience other complications, like blindness in diabetes, for example.

It is no secret that obesity is a serious epidemic. One of three children, and two out of three adults, are either overweight or obese in the United States. Sugar's role in gaining weight is much more serious than just adding in some empty calories. Instead, it affects the hormones responsible for satiety and the feelings of satisfying your hunger. Therefore, it leads you to eating more and more. I'm sure you can see the problem here...

Knowing this alone strengthens the case that there is a 60% increased risk of obesity in children for every daily serving of sugar-sweetened beverages in their diets!! It is important to note that the weight gain from sugar is often present in the abdominal area. This visceral fat breeds a higher risk profile for many other diseases, some even life threatening. Therefore, sugar is a leading factor in the rise in obesity among many other serious health complications.

Fructose, one of the main components of sugar, is metabolized by the liver, but only in significant amounts at a time. This wouldn't be a problem if everyone minimized their sugar intake significantly and increased their daily physical activity. Typically the fructose would be turned into glycogen and be stored in the liver for safe keeping until our bodies were ready to burn this energy reserve.

However, if there is already ample amount of glycogen in the liver, eating more sugar overloads it. The extra is forced to be turned into fat. This process is the beginning of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease among other complications. To take it even further, some studies have suggested that sugar can be just as damaging as alcohol is to the liver even if you're at a healthy weight! Luckily, the liver is able to repair itself, but with continuous sugar consumption, it can never catch a break!

There have been many misconceptions on what causes cardiovascular disease, the role in cholesterol, and what foods help or harm heart health. Things have been cleared up! Saturated fat is not the culprit. Sugar is!

You heard that right... Sugar consumption is a leading contributor to the #1 killer of this world: heart disease.

Studies have shown that consuming a large amount of fructose can cause a raise in bad cholesterol (LDL), blood glucose, insulin levels, and abdominal obesity. These findings were apparent in as little as 10 weeks.

Please note that all of these factors are major risk factors in developing heart disease.

Here are some more studies linking sugar consumption with heart disease:

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

AHA Journal: Sugar and Cardiovascular Disease

AHA Journal: Sugar and US Adolescents

Your immune system is responsible for defending your body against illness. That's a big deal! So, for your immune system to be compromised, you are putting yourself in danger of pathogens that can make you very sick...

Look for the continuation of this article in my column next week.

If you feel like you need support on phasing sugar out of your diet, here is a great detox plan to do just that. This scientifically designed program includes targeted nutrition, a modified elimination diet, simple exercise, and basic recommendations for stress management. After just 10 days, many people notice improved energy with fewer bothersome symptoms. 

Order your simple program here  and enter promo code "detox20" to get 20% off.

My mission is to help you get healthier without needing more medications. Let's make 2020 a great year and focus on Joy!! Let God bring you Joy and not sugar!! I need that joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart, down in my heart to stay!! Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

Keep Breathing,
Dr. Corinne Weaver 

Email: Dr@DrCorinneWeaver.com
Website: 
www.DrCorinneWeaver.com

Dr. Corinne Weaver is a compassionate upper cervical chiropractor, educator, motivational speaker, mother of three, and internationally bestselling author. In 2004, she founded the Upper Cervical Wellness Center in Indian Trail, North Carolina. Over the last 13 years, she has helped thousands of clients restore their brain to-body function. When she was 10 years old, she lost her own health as the result of a bike accident that led to having asthma and allergy issues that she thought she would always have to endure. Then, after her first upper cervical adjustment at age 21, her health began to improve thanks to upper cervical care and natural herbal remedies. This enabled her to create a drug-free wellness lifestyle for herself and her family, and she also enthusiastically discovered her calling to help children heal naturally.

Dr. Weaver was named one of Charlotte Magazine's "Top Doctors" in 2016 and is now a number-one internationally bestselling author to two books: Learning How to Breathe and No More Meds. 

Upper Cervical Wellness Center is known for finding the root cause of health concerns through lifestyle changes, diagnostic testing, nutraceutical supplementation, and correction of subluxation (as opposed to just medicating the symptoms). The practice offers cutting-edge technological care at its state-of-the-art facility, including laser-aligned upper cervical X-rays, bioimpedance analysis (measures body composition), digital thermography (locates thermal abnormalities characterized by skin inflammation), and complete nutritional blood analysis, which is focused on disease prevention.