You are in love with something that does not love you back. You think it loves you back, because it tickles your taste buds and makes you feel so good.
Yes, this something makes you feel good and even gives you a rush at times, only to let you down. And when it let’s you down, it really let’s you down.
But you love the rush and do not mind it letting you down. If something can make you feel so good and let you down at the same time, why would you keep running back to it over and over?
Unfortunately, many people are in love with this something and find it hard to end the love affair. But if I told you your health depended on it, would you end this love affair? I would hope so, because after all, your health is what matters most. And no amount of love with this something should keep you in bondage.
It is now time to tell you what most of us have a love affair with. We love it so much and cannot get enough of it. Ladies and gentlemen the love affair is with none other than sugar. That’s right, not just any sugar, but white sugar! White sugar takes you on a high and then crashes you all at the same time.
What is white sugar?
White sugar is commonly known as sucrose. White sugar is highly processed and is a pure chemical product. White sugar is found in almost all processed foods. It is even found in meats, processed vegetables and toothpaste. Everywhere you turn, white sugar is right there.
The refining of sugar is highly dependent upon chemicals. You can learn more about this in White Sugar: The No Nutrition Food.
Reasons Why you Should Stay Away from White Sugar
(1). White sugar leaches vitamins and minerals from your blood and bones. Why? Because it is refined and not whole. Which in turn causes the body to give up vitamins and minerals to break down the sugar.
(2). White sugar suppresses your immune system. Why? Because the hormone, insulin, involved in handling excess sugar in the body remains in the system in excess. This creates imbalances, which in turn messes with those hormones involved with the immune system.
(3). Sugar gives you highs and lows. It gives you a high as in your blood sugar peaks, which can cause nausea, headaches and fatigue. But as your blood sugar lows/crashes, you become irritable, anxious, dizzy, have heart palpitations, cry and become depressed. This leads to more cravings for sugar.
(4). White sugar associated with cancer. Excess insulin in the system due to handling the sugar promotes the growth of certain kinds of cancer cells (breasts, ovaries, lung, colon, prostate, and stomach).
(5). Sugar makes you fat. It is not only fat that makes us fat. Refined sugar eaten in excess gets converted into fat. Be careful with the desserts and sweet beverages.
(6). Sugar contributes to insulin resistance and diabetes. When refined sugar is in your blood, your pancreas produces insulin to balance your blood sugar levels. But if you are constantly eating refined sugars, these sugars are in your blood all the time, which results in insulin not working well to remove that sugar from your blood. The sugar does not make it to the cells, which results in insulin resistance. This results in your blood sugar remaining high all the time.
Editor’s note: Learning this motivates me to lay off the processed foods and to stay away from the sweet foods. Just because it is vegan does not make it healthy or good for you.
Alternative Sweeteners
If you must sweeten your foods, stick with those sweeteners that are whole, having undergone little to no processing. Here is a list of vegan sweeteners to give you an idea of what you may consider.
The best sweeteners, are nature’s candy. Nature’s candy is what is found in nature. And that is fruit! Dates are one example of fruit sweeteners that you can use to sweeten nut/seed milks as well as smoothies. Dates are also good to use in desserts or to have as a snack.
Do not think about consuming artificial sweeteners. If you think white sugar wreaks havoc in the body, artificial sweeteners are even worse.
Learn more about how sugar ruins your health.
Call to Action
If you have a problem with consuming to many sweet foods, decide today that you will cut back on your sweet food consumption. Eat more whole foods that already have natural sweeteners. Whatever you do, do not ever over do it.
Aren’t you tired of being up and down? Don’t you think it is time that you end your love affair with white sugar today?
Sources
You might find this pretty interesting – http://journals.lww.com/neuroreport/Abstract/2001/11160/Excessive_sugar_intake_alters_binding_to_dopamine.35.aspx
There’s a few similar studies out there
In simpler terms, some evidence shows that excess sugar intake binds to the same receptors in the brain as heroin, which would lead one to believe that it can cause all of the same symptoms as heroin dependence – mood alterations, decrease in pain tolerance, and all sorts of other fun stuff.
Hi,
Great article, glad to see that you mentioned sugar and cancer. Sugar is food for cancer cells and that one reason should be enough to eliminating it totally from your diet.
I don’t eat any kind of sugar at all. I have cured my candida just by changing my diet. Remember that sugar is added to almost all refined food products, even in potato chips you can find sugar.
The best sugar substitute is Stevia. It is all natural and also an antioxidant. Make sure it is organic.
Be yourself and be happy, never stop dreaming!
Happy Natural Life,
Kristin
Hi Kristin,
Thank you! That is great that you cured your candida by changing your diet. An awesome testimony, indeed!
This month I am on a fast that and I can have nothing that has any sugar in it. So far it’s been a little trying, but I have overcame. 😉
Yes, Stevia is a great substitute. Thanks for sharing the information about Stevia.
Evelyn
P.S. I added your name in front of your keywords. Make sure you do that, because I usually don’t approve comments with only keywords. Thanks for commenting!
Hi Evelyn, thanks for sharing such informative post. Sugars especially white and I have been arch enemy since I was small. My stomach can’t handle it even a small amount. That’s why I don’t like sodas and fruit juice that are not 100% pure.
Hi Anne,
Wow, thanks for sharing! It’s great that your body warns you and that’s your key to stay away.
Take care,
Evelyn
Evelyn,
Having excessive sugars exposes you to a host of health problems. Your list of problems is very true. I think the whole problem is a lot of peopl tend to eat foods without knowing the amount of sugar content in them until its too late.
I think the other problem that seems to be cropping up is the use of artificial sweeteners. Soda drinks like diet coke or coke zero or whatever name you wanna call it is just a fancy marketing gimmick. In reality, the sweet taste is mainly from aspartarme which exposes you to even more medical problems. If you were to make a comparision between the original coke and the supposedly “low sugar” coke, the original coke is still relatively healthier.
Just my 2 cents 🙂
Hi Bryan,
I agree with you about people eating foods and not knowing the sugar content.
Again, I agree! Aspartame is awful and has done a lot of damage to people. When I was drinking sodas, I never liked the ones that were diet. Why? They tasted terrible. There was always this a yucky aftertaste. So, I totally agree with your 2 cents. 😉
Take care,
Evelyn
Hey Evelyn, have you read about the studies that claim that sugar has the same affect on the brain as cocaine? WOW! No wonder why it is so hard to stop eating it!
Hi Susan,
No, but I’ve read statements about it being like crack in a few books. That’s a double WOW!
Absolutely!
Thanks for stopping by,
Evelyn
What about brown sugar? I heard it’s somehow less refined and thus healthier.
Alex,
Brown sugar is a better option, but it still goes through processing. I don’t know about it being any healthier.
Well, wikipedia says that brown sugar “is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar”.
Unrefined should mean “natural”, it would be interesting to gather more info on this.
Sugar sugar everywhere, in our food and in our drink.
This is a struggle for many. But the more that we’re able to be informed from posts like yours the better equipped we are to make healthier decisions.
Hi Dr. Mark,
Yes, it is in everything!
Thank you for sharing and stopping by!
Take care,
Evelyn
Evelyn, Thanks for a great article, reinforcing something that I know is true and know that I have to do. I have broken my dependence on refined sugars & carbs a couple of times and feel so much better whenI do it. I am insulin resistant and know that I need to get back off of this stuff. I just got sucked back in during the holidays, which were a little difficult this year and I have been making excuses ever since! I use honey & agave nectar when I am eating right. Now to kick myself in the rear and do this again!
Brenda Lynn
Hi Brenda,
Welcome to my blog!
I’m glad to know that you use honey and agave nectar. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Just do what you have to do and you’ll be fine.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing.
Take care,
Evelyn
Hi Evelyn
Really well researched article. Up until white sugar was introduced into western diets there wasn’t the tooth decay and many other diseases we see that are common in our society today.
Glad you also mentioned the artificial sweeteners. Often people erroneously think that if they use these instead of white sugar they are a healthy option! Yikes they are worse than the sugar.
I love dates and also only offer guests organic brown sugar if they come to visit and want a cup of tea or coffee. Really enjoyed the post. Thanks for sharing. Appreciated.
Patricia Perth Australia
Hi Patricia,
Thank you!
That’s great that you offer our guests organic brown sugar.
Good to know you like dates. I’ve discovered the many varieties and they have different tastes and textures. I think that is so neat.
Glad you stopped by!
Take care,
Evelyn
I keep the intake of white sugar as low as possible. Am not vegan or vegetarian, so i have the option of honey, which i take some times. On comparing them, honey is tasty, it even prevents cancer, boosts immune and prevent diabetes, and sugar fails in everything.
I will give your alternate sweeteners a try, good to have choices.
Hi Uttoran,
That’s great! Thanks for sharing the information about honey.
Have a great day!
Evelyn
Hi Evelyn,
Although I already knew it, I really enjoyed reading your post, as usual!
Have a great day 🙂
Reut.
Hi Reut,
Glad you stopped by and that you enjoyed the post.
Have a wonderful day!
Evelyn
Great read, my mom always tells me about how bad sugar is. Believe it or not, now a days sugar is in almost everything. Next time you pick something up at a grocery store take a look at the label.
I hope you don’t mind if I share one of the articles we have on our site:
The Common Cold: Beat the Post-holiday Drip!
http://evelynparham.com/2011/02/15/end-your-love-affair-with-white-sugar/
Sorry wrong URL…
The Common Cold: Beat the Post-holiday Drip!
http://www.miracleofgarlic.com/the-common-cold-beat-the-post-holiday-drip/
Anthony,
Thanks, I’ll check it out.
Evelyn
Hi Anthony,
Your mother is so right. Yeah, it is amazing how much stuff has sugar in it.
Feel free to share!
I made a vegetable juice and put two cloves of garlic in it. It was good! 😉
Take care,
Evelyn
This is extremely well-written. I have given up white sugar, yet am not a vegan, just a vegetarian. I bake with raw organic sugar (I hate dates), which my kids are happy with, and I sweeten my tea with agave. I appreciate having the list of other choices. As to processed foods – yuck. I doubt people realize that sugar is in meat. Thanks for this informative article.
Hi Alexandra,
Thank you! 😉
Cool! Hate is a strong word, you must really dislike dates. The raw organic sugar is good for baking. I usually lean toward agave, because I haven’t purchased any dates lately.
I didn’t know you were a vegetarian. That’s nice to know.
I appreciate you stopping by.
Evelyn
Evelyn, Evelyn, Evelyn! Why would you ask me to rid my life of white sugar and then show a picture of a red juicy strawberry with white raindrops of sugar splashing its goodness with even more sweet goodness? 🙂
Just saying.. 🙂
Bryan, I’m sorry!
It’s just a way of showing that we don’t need the sugar when we can have the nice, juicy fruit to give us our natural sweetness. 🙂
Thank you for chiming in!
Evelyn
Hi Evelyn,
Thanks for the info and the great links. I have a sweet tooth so this one is hard for me. I do like sweetening things with applesauce. I put it in oatmeal and even smear it on bagels and toast. Yummy:) Thanks Evelyn!
Hi Dandy,
I’ve never heard of putting applesauce in oatmeal and on bagels and toast. That’s a new one for me. I may have to try that. 😉
Take care,
Evelyn
Appreciate the info, Evelyn. Don’t eat too many sweets but want to be aware of the sugar in other things I eat too. Have a great day!
Hi Karen,
Thank you for stopping by! That’s great that you don’t too many sweets. Enjoy your day too!
Hi Evelyn,
Great post! I will pass this on, it is not new information to me, but people need to be aware of the dangers.
Hey Jo,
Thanks! Yeah, same here.
Awareness is the key!
Take care,
Evelyn
Great article, Evelyn! To me the worst thing about white sugar is that is makes you crave more of the same. Once you get off the sugar loop it is so much easier to make healthy choices. 🙂
Hi CC,
Thank you! Absolutely, those cravings are hard to shake.
I have to agree with you about getting off the sugar loop. Once I let it go, I found that it was much easier for me to stick with my healthy food choices.
It works out so well that the desire for sugar disappears. I think that is amazing! 😉
Take care,
Evelyn
Hi Evelyn,
Beautifully put post.
Reducing refined sugars while gradually replacing with unrefined sugars is one strategy I advocate.
Also, perhaps you’re familiar with the NY Times Magazine article asking whether sugar is ‘toxic?’
Would love to discuss exchanging posts with you, if you’re interested. Let me know-
thanks,
Michael