Get Fit With Larysa Blog

The 3 Bad Things Sugar Will Do To You (That You Probably Didn’t Know)

Posted on December 28, 2011 by admin

The holidays can be a bit challenging for your diet because if your house is like mine, you’re surrounded by sugar and yummy treats given to you by loving, well meaning family members, friends and co-workers.  Although 1 or 2 days of feasting isn’t bad for you (I am the queen of preaching moderation) consuming a lot of sugar over time can do some crappy things to your body.  You probably know that eating excessive sugar can cause you to be overweight, have cavities and leave you predisposed to getting Type 2 Diabetes.  But here are some daily, tangible things that you may not realize sugar does to your body:

1.  It can make you koo koo. The key to losing weight and feeling energetic is keeping your blood sugar stable.  You can accomplish this by eating well balanced meals (protein, carb and fats together) that have lots of fiber and cause your body to take longer to digest.  Your body runs through sugar which causes your blood sugar to spike, which in turn causes insulin to be released.  As soon as insulin is released your body is triggered to store excess calories as fat.  Which is not good.  In addition, because sugar is a simple carb it gives your body a quick dose of energy.  Which feels good initially, but as your body uses the energy up, you start to crash (ever watch a kid after eating candy?  They go nuts then fall on the sofa).  So raised blood sugar levels make you fat and drain you of your feel good energy.

2.  It can give you a cold. When there is excess insulin in your body, your immune system goes on high alert.  Hormones are released as your body fights the inflammation caused by the excess insulin.  Unfortunately, if your body is constantly fighting this war, it leaves you susceptible to other issues and maladies like colds, viruses, etc.  People who consume more sugar and have poorer dietary habits are known to have more sick days than those who eat healthier.

3.  It can cause you to break a bone.  Sugar causes your blood pH to be acidic which is an unnatural state.  Calcium and minerals are drawn from your bones and teeth to lower acidity which can predispose you to bone density issues and teeth problems (this is in addition to decay).  In addition, cancer and tumors are known to thrive in acidic environments (it’s one of the reasons why cancer patients are put on macrobiotic diets).  A test for certain cancers is to feed the tumor a sugar solution and see how quickly it grows.

So what should you do?  As I said, sugar in moderation is ok but it’s excessive, daily consumption that really does the damage.

1.  Eat natural forms of sugar when you can.  I love honey, agave and maple syrup.

2.  When you consume sugar, eat it with protein and a little fat to buffer the blood sugar boost.

3.  If you’re going to eat sugar, eat it later in the day so as to not set up a craving for it throughout the day (sugar is known to be addictive)

4.  If you’re a sugar addict, ditch it slowly.  For example, if you’re used to putting 3 teaspoons of sugar in your morning coffee, reduce it to 2 for a week, then 1 the next week, then eliminate it completely.

As for artificial sugar substitutes, they cause more harm than good and still boost your blood sugar (which is why they’re not allowed on the Atkins Diet).  Ditch these completely from your diet and don’t look back.  I’ll blog about how horrible they are in a subsequent blog.

So, now, what to do with the leftover fudge, cookies and candy that are staring you from your kitchen counter?  Bring them to work, freeze them for future company or hand them out to neighbors.  They’ll be happy, you’ll be happier and your body will be happiest!

Xoxo

Larysa