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发帖数: 789 | 1 By Mark A Ament
If you only make one improvement to your diet this year, I hope it is to
replace refined sugar with raw food sweeteners. If you do, I can guarantee
you that smoother digestion, more relaxed muscles, more peaceful emotions
and increased mental clarity are soon to follow.
Before looking at the negative health consequences of eating refined sugar,
let's have a quick look at how it's made. This will give you some insight
into why it affects the body the way it does. The majority of sugar comes
from sugar cane (Saccharum spp.) which is a dense tall grass that grows in
tropical regions. The juice from sugar cane is traditionally used as a
sweetener from India to the Caribbean. And, interestingly, raw sugar cane
juice is pretty good for you, being alkalizing and relatively low on the
glycemic index.
But in the 1500s manufacturers began refining sugar cane so that it could be
more easily transported overseas, especially back to Europe. Over the years
, the process has become increasingly complex and dependent on chemicals.
Here is what happens between cutting sugar cane in the fields and delivering
refined sugar to your local store.
After harvest, machines at a sugar mill wash, cut, shred and press the juice
out of the cane stalks. This liquid is then heated to boiling and treated
with chemical solvents to remove impurities. Then it is moved to huge tanks
and heated again to evaporate the water content. This leaves a thick syrup
that is placed in a centrifuge machine to form the syrup into crystals.
These crystals are then transported to a sugar refinery where they are
heated to boiling again, treated with bleach and other chemicals and then
filtered through bone char, which is a powder made from cow or pig bones.
After filtering, the syrup is then centrifuged again to produce refined
white sugar. Brown sugar is created by adding molasses before putting it in
the centrifuge.
Given the fact that it's heated to boiling at least three times, treated
with chemicals, filtered through bone powder and forced to crystallize, it's
no wonder that refined sugar has literally had the life force beaten out of
it.
Refined sugar, white or brown, literally has zero nutritional value - no
minerals, no vitamins, no fiber, no enzymes, no fats - nothing of value for
the body. Instead it's toxic to the body. You can live longer on pure water
alone, than on water mixed with sugar.
Here is what refined sugar does in the body:
It produces an acidic condition in the digestive system. This drains the
body of vitamins and minerals and the consequences can be life threatening.
For example the metabolism of sugar requires leaches calcium from the bones
and teeth which can lead to tooth decay or osteoporosis. Sugar also depletes
the body of potassium and magnesium, which are required for proper cardiac
function, and is therefore a major factor in heart disease.
It compromises the body's immune system and stresses the pancreas by forcing
it to produce a rush of digestive enzymes. This can lead to the formation
gallstones and diabetes.
It depletes stores of vitamin B, which is our brain food, and can interfere
with memory, concentration and other mental functions.
It makes the blood very thick and sticky, inhibiting much of the blood flow
into the minute capillaries that supply our skin gums and teeth with vital
nutrients. Refined sugar has been shown to increase wrinkles and dry aged
skin.
When excess sugar is eaten, it is first stored in the liver. With continued
consumption the liver expands like a balloon and begins to function poorly.
An improperly functioning liver can quickly lead to high blood pressure,
skin disorders and acne to name a few.
In addition, most people consume far more sugar than their bodies can
possibly use for energy. When this happens, the liver converts the extra
sugar into molecules called triglycerides and stores it as fat, or else
produces cholesterol from the by-products of sugar and deposits it in veins
and arteries. Sugar is thus a major factor in obesity and arteriosclerosis.
It also negatively effects behavior. Refined sugar consumption has been
linked to violent behavior, hypertension, and learning impediments. In one
study violence in prisons was remarkably reduced simply by eliminating
refined sugar and starch from prison diets. And Singapore in 1991 banned
sugary soft drink sales from all schools and youth centers, citing the
danger that sugar poses to the mental and physical health of children
Finally refined sugar is an addictive substance. Abruptly giving up sugar
often brings on the sort of withdrawal symptoms associated with narcotic
drugs- fatigue, lassitude, depression, moodiness, headaches, aching limbs.
This happens as the body eliminates the left over toxins from the sugar and
begins to bring itself back into balance.
As you can see, putting processed sugar into your body makes no sense at all
. It is something like pouring sugar into the gas tank of a million dollar
racing car. Only do it if you want to screw up your car/body for some reason.
Fortunately for all of us with a sweet tooth, there are many natural raw
sweeteners that are not only harmless to the body, but actually support it.
The highest choice is to use 100% unrefined and untreated sweeteners. These
are what I use exclusively:
Fruits,
Dried fruits like dates or raisins,
Pure cane juice,
Raw, unprocessed cane sugar,
Agave syrup,
Stevia and Stevia extract,
Yacon syrup,
Raw honey,
Mezquite powder,
Most of these are available at any health food store. Just make sure to ask
if they are minimally processed and raw (meaning unheated).
Whatever you choose, you can be sure of this: eliminating refined sugar from
your diet is one of the kindest and most loving things you could ever do
for your body. Please pass this information on to anyone in your life who
you care about.
Some interesting sugar facts:
Sir Frederick Banting, the co discoverer of insulin, noted in 1929 that
among sugar plantation owners who ate large amounts of refined sugar,
diabetes was common. Among native cane-cutters, who only chewed the raw cane
, he saw no diabetes.
In 1915, the average of sugar consumption was around 7-10 Kg per person per
year. Today the average person consumes about 70 kg
In 2002, almost 132 million tons of sugar were consumed worldwide.
Sugar is used in leather tanning, printers' inks and dyes and even in
textile sizing and finishing
Film stuntmen use bottles and plate glass windows made of sugar
Chemical manufacturers use sugar to grow penicillin
Sugar hardens asphalt. It slows the setting of ready-mixed concrete and glue.
About 30% of refined sugar comes from sugar beets. The rest comes from sugar
cane
One 12 oz. Cola contains 11 teaspoons of sugar.
Sugar was one of the first pharmaceutical ingredients used, as it still is
today, to mask the bitter taste of medicines |
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