This Christmas do your part to fight BIG EVIL GOVERNMENT, deny THEM
your money; shop online and tax free. Small local shops can go online
too; maybe someone could set up a web site to swap purchases just
outside of tax jurisdictions. Hey! What a great idea! A kind of
avoid TAX barter.
And now on to our main feature...
http://www.macrobiotics.co.uk/sugar.htm
SUGAR-ITS EFFECTS ON THE BODY & MIND
Of all the foods consumed today, refined sugar is considered to be one
of the most harmful. ...In 1997 Americans devoured 7.3 billion pounds
of candy. Americans spent an estimated $23.1 billion dollars on candy
and gum. The average American consumed a record 27.3 pounds of candy
and gum in the same year-the equivalent of about six regular sized
chocolate bars a week-marking the fifth consecutive year of increased
demand. (1)
....Consumption of processed foods (which are laced with sugar) cost
the American public more than $54 billion in dental bills each year,
so the dental industry reaps huge profits from the programmed
addiction of the public to sugar products. ...Today we have a nation
that is addicted to sugar. In 1915, the national average of sugar
consumption (per year) was around 15 to 20 pounds per person. Today
the average person consumes his/her weight in sugar, plus over 20
pounds of corn syrup.
To add more horrors to these facts there are some people that use no
sweets and some who use much less than the average figure, which means
that there is a percentage of the population that consume a great deal
more refined sugar than their body weight. The human body cannot
tolerate this large amount of refined carbohydrates. The vital organs
in the body are actually damaged by this gross intake of sugar.
....Refined sugar contains no fiber, no minerals, no proteins, no fats,
no enzymes, only empty calories. What happens when you eat a refined
carbohydrate like sugar? Your body must borrow vital nutrients from
healthy cells to metabolize the incomplete food. Calcium, sodium,
potassium and magnesium are taken from various parts of the body to
make use of the sugar. Many times, so much calcium is used to
neutralize the effects of sugar that the bones become osteoporotic due
to the withdrawn calcium.
Likewise, the teeth are affected and they lose their components until
decay occurs and hastens their loss. ...Refined sugar is void of all
nutrients, consequently it causes the body to deplete its own stores
of various vitamins, minerals and enzymes. If sugar consumption is
continued, an over-acid condition results, and more minerals are
needed from deep in the body to correct the imbalance. If the body is
lacking the nutrients used to metabolize sugar, it will not be able to
properly handle and rid itself of the poisonous residues.
These wastes accumulate through the brain and nervous system, which
speeds up cellular death. The bloodstream becomes over-loaded with
waste products and symptoms of carbonic poisoning result.
....Sugar also makes the blood very thick and sticky, inhibiting much
of the blood flow into the minute capillaries that supply our gums and
teeth with vital nutrients. Therefore, we wind up with diseased gums
and starving teeth. America and England, the two largest sugar
consumers, have horrendous dental problems.
....In 1948, a $57,000 ten-year study was awarded to Harvard University
by the Sugar Research Foundation to find out how sugar causes cavities
in teeth and how to prevent it. In 1958, Time magazine reported the
findings, which were reported in the Dental Association Journal. They
discovered there was no way to prevent the problem and their funding
immediately disappeared.
...."The most significant human study was done in Sweden, reported in
1954, and known as the Vipeholm Dental Caries Study. More than 400
adult mental patients were placed on controlled diets and observed for
five years. The subjects were divided into various groups. Some ate
complex and simple carbohydrates at mealtimes only, while other
supplemented mealtime food with between-meal-snacks, sweetened with
sucrose, chocolate, caramel, or toffee.
Among the conclusions drawn from the study, was that sucrose
consumption could increase caries activity. The risk increased if the
sucrose was consumed in a sticky form that adhered to the tooth's
surfaces. The greatest damage was inflicted by foods with high
concentrations of sucrose, in sticky form, eaten between meals, even
if contact with the tooth's surfaces was brief. Caries, due to the
intake of foods with high sucrose levels, could be decreased when such
offending foods were eliminated from the diet.
But individual differences existed, and in some cases, caries
continued to appear despite avoidance of refined sugar or maximum
restriction of natural sugars and total dietary carbohydrates." (2)
....Diabetes is another commonly known disease caused by sugar as well
as a high fat diet. Diabetes is caused by the failure of the pancreas
to produce adequate insulin when the blood sugar rises. A concentrated
amount of sugar introduced into the system sends the body into shock
from the rapid rise in the blood sugar level. The pancreas eventually
wears out from overwork and diabetes then rears its ugly head.
....Hypoglycemia occurs when the pancreas overreacts to the large
amount of sugar in the blood and releases too much insulin leaving one
with the "tired" feeling as the blood sugar level becomes lower than
it should be.
"A recent article in the British Medical Journal, entitled The Sweet
Road to Gallstones, reported that refined sugar may be one of the
major dietary risk factors in gallstone disease. Gallstones are
composed of fats and calcium. Sugar can upset all of the minerals, and
one of the minerals, calcium, can become toxic or nonfunctioning,
depositing itself anywhere in the body, including the gallbladder.
...."One out of ten Americans has gallstones. This risk increases to
one out of every five after age forty. Gallstones may go unnoticed or
may cause pain-wrenching pain. Other symptoms might include bloating,
belching, and intolerance to foods." (3) ...Another serious problem
with sugar that is now coming to the forefront is the various levels
of mental problems. Our brains are very sensitive and react to quick
chemical changes within the body. As sugar is consumed, our cells are
robbed of their B vitamin, which destroys them, and insulin production
is inhibited. Low insulin production means a high sugar (glucose)
level in the bloodstream, which can lead to a confused mental state or
unsound mind, and has also been linked with juvenile criminal
behavior. Dr. Alexander G. Schauss, brings this solemn fact out in his
book, Diet, Crime and Delinquency. Many mental ward and prison inmates
are "sugarholics" and erratic emotional outbreaks often follow a sugar
binge.
REFINED SUGAR-A DRUG?
....Refined sugar, by some, is called a drug, because in the refining
process everything of food value has been removed except the
carbohydrates-pure calories, without vitamins, minerals, proteins,
fats, enzymes or any of the other elements that make up food. Many
nutrition experts say that white sugar is extremely harmful, possibly
as harmful as a drug, especially in the quantities consumed by the
present-day American.
....Dr. David Reuben, author of Everything You Always Wanted to Know
About Nutrition says, "…white refined sugar-is not a food. It is a
pure chemical extracted from plant sources, purer in fact than
cocaine, which it resembles in many ways. Its true name is sucrose and
its chemical formula is C12H22O11.
It has 12 carbon atoms, 22 hydrogen atoms, 11 oxygen atoms, and
absolutely nothing else to offer." ...The chemical formula for cocaine
is C17H21NO4. Sugar's formula again is C12H22O11. For all practical
purposes, the difference is that sugar is missing the "N", or nitrogen
atom. ...Refining means to make "pure" by a process of extraction or
separation. Sugars are refined by taking a natural food, which
contains a high percentage of sugar, and then removing all elements of
that food until only the sugar remains. ...While sugar is commonly
made from sugar cane or sugar beets.
Through heating and mechanical and chemical processing, all vitamins,
minerals, proteins, fats, enzymes and indeed every nutrient is removed
until only the sugar remains. Sugar cane and sugar beets are first
harvested and then chopped into small pieces, squeezing out the juice,
which is then mixed with water. This liquid is then heated, and lime
is added. Moisture is boiled away, and the remaining fluid is pumped
into vacuum pans to concentrate the juice. By this time, the liquid is
starting to crystallize, and is ready to be placed into a centrifuge
machine where any remaining residues (like molasses) are spun away.
The crystals are then dissolved by heating to the boiling point and
passed through charcoal filters.
After the crystals condense, they are bleached snow-white usually by
the use of pork or cattle bones. ...During the refining process, 64
food elements are destroyed. All the potassium, magnesium, calcium,
iron, manganese, phosphate, and sulfate are removed. The A, D, and B,
vitamins are destroyed. Amino acids, vital enzymes, unsaturated fats,
and all fiber are gone. To a lesser or greater degree, all refined
sweeteners such as corn syrup, maple syrup, etc., undergo similar
destructive processes. Molasses is the chemical and deranged nutrients
that is a byproduct of sugar manufacture. ...Sugar manufacturers are
aggressive in defending their product and have a strong political
lobby which allows them to continue selling a deadly food item that by
all reason should not be allowed in the American diet. ...If you have
any doubts as to the detriments of sugar (sucrose), try leaving it out
of your diet for several weeks and see if it makes a difference! You
may also notice you have acquired an addiction and experience some
withdrawal symptoms. ...Studies show that "sugar" is just as
habit-forming as any narcotic; and its use, misuse, and abuse is our
nation's number one disaster.
It is no wonder when we consider all the products we consume daily
which are loaded with sugar! The average healthy digestive system can
digest and eliminate from two to four teaspoons of sugar daily,
usually without noticeable problems, (that is if damage is not already
present). One 12 oz. Cola contains 11 teaspoons of sugar, and that's
aside from the caffeine. It's the sugar that gives you quick energy,
but only for a brief time due to the rise of the blood sugar level.
But the body quickly releases a rush of insulin, which rapidly lowers
the blood sugar and causes a significant drop in energy and endurance.
It is easy to see why America's health is in serious trouble.
EFFECT OF SUGAR ON NEUROLOGICAL PROCESSES ...One of the keys to
orderly brain function is glutamic acid, and this compound is found in
many vegetables. When sugar is consumed, the bacteria in the
intestines, which manufacture B vitamin complexes, begin to die-these
bacteria normally thrive in a symbiotic relationship with the human
body. When the B vitamin complex level declines, the glutamic acid
(normally transformed into "go" "no-go" directive neural enzymes by
the B vitamins) is not processed and sleepiness occurs, as well as a
decreased ability for short-term memory function and numerical
calculative abilities. The removal of B vitamins when foods are
"processed" makes the situation even more tenuous.
WHAT ABOUT GUM CHEWING? ...Besides the sugar in gum being damaging to
the teeth there is another harmful problem to consider and that is:
"teeth and jaws weren't designed for more than a few minutes of solid
chewing per day-far less than the two hours clocked in daily by
hardcore gum chewers. All this chewing results in inordinate wear on
the jawbone, gum tissue and lower molars, and can change the alignment
of the jaws" says Michael Elsohn, D.D.S., in the Medical Tribune.
ENDNOTES: (1) U.S. Commerce Department figures compiled for the
National Confectioners Association (NCA) and the Chocolate
Manufacturers Association. (Reuters, 8/21/98) (2) Beatrice Trum
Humter, The Sugar Trap & How to Avoid It, (Houghton Mifflin Co.,
1982), p.15. (3) Nancy Appleton, Ph.D., Lick The Sugar Habit, (Warner
Books, N.Y., 1985) pp. 73,74. .