About a year ago, I started getting more serious in cutting down on sugar. It’s been very hard, because I had quite a sweet tooth, but the evidence that adding sugar to everything is bad for us is just too overwhelming to ignore. My particular weakness was chocolat (especially M&Ms), and pie and ice cream. In my first battle, I gave up the M&Ms about 2 years ago. But I rationalized that a little extra sugar was OK because I wasn’t overweight and I burned a lot of calories by staying active – so I stuck with the pie and ice cream. Since I made my own pies, I was very aware that every pie contained a cup of sugar. I love pie, and did a little more rationalizing by saying it was ‘fruit’. (Ha!) Now I’ve cut out the pie, but still have a little ice cream most nights, although in much smaller portions than before. One other area I’ve cut out is sugar in my coffee. I’m trying to drink it with just some cream; no sugar. Ugh.
I now realize I was actually addicted to sugar. Giving it up has changed my tastebuds – I’ve become much more sensitive to the taste of sweetness. I’m amazed at how sweet an orange or an apple tastes to me now. I used to occasionally have raisin bran for breakfast. Now I’m surprised at how sweet it tastes, which I never noticed before. They must add a lot of sugar when making it.
Adding refined sugar is bad for you
A Columbia U study found after 4 weeks on a high sugar diet, mice showed “characteristics of metabolic syndrome, such as weight gain, insulin resistance, and glucose intolerance. And their microbiomes had changed dramatically...”
Nature Microbiology posted an article in January that also linked sugar to cardiovascular disease.
“Animals are biologically hardwired to crave sugar, but high sugar consumption can increase blood glucose and the risk of developing metabolic diseases. The exact causes of diabetes remain unclear, though factors like obesity, diet, genetics, and aging contribute to its onset. High sugar intake is a significant environmental risk linked to increased rates of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.”
Beverages that are high in sugar, like Coca-Cola (40 grams of sugar, or 10 teaspoons, in one 12 oz can!!) are really bad news:
“Several studies have found a strong link between consuming sugary drinks and an increased risk of heart disease”. Not only that, but since artificial sweeteners seem to have the same effect on the pancreas as sugar, people gain weight on diet drinks.
Dietary fat isn’t what makes people fat; it’s carbs, like sugar.
This is from arthritus.org:
“Decades ago, food companies began an aggressive anti-fat campaign, blaming fat for skyrocketing rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other chronic conditions. Bolstered by flawed science, they began replacing fat with sugar in countless processed foods.
By the early 2000s, most anti-fat claims had been debunked, with some public health officials calling it “the biggest mistake in modern medicine.” Demand for low-fat products dipped for a few years, but started ticking up again, increasing 5% between 2016 and 2021.”
Also from the same article, by Linda Rath:
“How Does Added Sugar Trigger Inflammation?
Sugar, not fat, sparks the inflammation that drives most chronic diseases, including:
Multiple sclerosis
Liver disease – along with alcohol, high-fructose corn syrup is a leading cause of liver transplants
Added sugar contributes to these and other serious health conditions in several ways:
It triggers the release of inflammatory cytokines – molecules that signal and activate immune cells. This causes unnecessary inflammation that smolders in the body over time. Chronic, low-grade inflammation damages tissues, which is why it’s associated with so many different conditions. Among other health problems, it’s responsible for the pain, swelling and stiffness that occur with RA and other rheumatic diseases.
It causes weight gain, especially around the waist, which is associated with cardiovascular disease. Fat pumps out more inflammatory molecules, leading to even more inflammation.
It leads to the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). These toxic compounds occur in meat cooked at high temperatures, roasted nuts, pasteurized milk and aged cheeses. They can form inside the body, too, when fats and proteins combine with sugar, especially fructose. AGEs have been linked to inflammation, aging, osteoarthritis, sarcopenia (a condition that causes muscle loss) and osteoporosis. They also have been tied to the upswing in chronic inflammatory diseases, including RA.
It causes inflammation in the digestive tract leading to an unhealthy ratio of “bad” to “good” bacteria and to leaky gut, where damage to the gut lining causes toxins from the intestine to leak into the bloodstream. A growing body of research traces the inflammation driving chronic diseases, including inflammatory and autoimmune forms of arthritis, to problems with the gut microbiome.”
Read the labels
As part of my own self-imposed crusade to cut back on sugar, I started reading labels in the grocery store. What an eye-opener! Suddenly, I’m seeing that the vast majority of store-bought foods are ultra-processed, with all kinds of chemicals and added sugars.
JFK Jr, the President’s pick for the head of HHS, has been shedding light on the dangers of highly processed foods for at least 20 years, but I didn’t pay much attention because the media message kept portraying him as a kook. Now I realize the media stories were bought and paid for by the lobbyists from the giant food companies. Those same companies shelled out lots of money, Billions, to influence congressmen and lab testers and the FDA, not just the media.
As I walk down the aisles of our local supermarket, I see row after row of processed, cleverly packaged foods that have got sugar or high fructose corn syrup in them, knowing it will get customers ‘hooked’ or even addicted.
The amount of foods that aren’t doctored with flavor-enhancing additives is only a fraction of what’s on the shelves. I’m talking about dairy- milk, cream, cheese – and produce and fresh meat and fish. Even then, the beef and dairy cows may have been fed a lot of antibiotics and growth hormones, and the produce may have been heavily sprayed with herbicides and insecticides. That’s why the ideal is to raise and cook your own food, or buy from local sources that you can check out. Farmers’ markets are more popular than ever.
A study at Northeastern University found that most of store-bought food is processed and 70% is ultra-processed. What’s in the market are cookies, candy, soft drinks, cakes, pies, twinkies, canned processed foods, frozen processed meals, etc.
Breaking the addiction
Bite the bullet and start eating and drinking things where you’re not adding any sugar or any kind of sweeteners. At first you won’t like it, because you’re craving sugar. But if you keep at it (they say it takes 21 days in a row to break a habit or to form a new habit) you will start to get used to it. Of course you need to cut out all sweets.
Increase your intake of fruits and vegetables, salads of all kinds - find a few that you like. Ideally, you’ll make your own. Make your own dressing, too - I’m fine with olive oil (not vegetable oil) and vinegar, salt and pepper.
Meat and fat won’t hurt you - we’ve been lied to by the medical associations, like the AMA, for years. Real butter is good. Cheese and cream, too - good sources of protein, vitamins and minerals.
There are some sodas with little or no sugar.
Buckle up - it’s for your own good!
I’m trying to cut back…quitting ice cream will by far be the hardest
Very motivational!