SUGAR - The Sweet Toxin

By Lester Burnem

Cigarettes, alcohol & SUGAR, the holy trinity of modern ill health. Yes that's right "sugar" has earned its place in such evil, exalted company & as the body of evidence grows with every passing year sugar just may be the most dangerous of them all.

Consuming sugar in excess is a prime cause of obesity, heart disease, cancer & type two diabetes. In western countries the average person ingests 151 grams of pure sugar everyday through the food & beverages they consume, that is over 15% of a kg of sweet toxins every single day which translates to over 50kgs of disease inducing toxins per year. As the anti smoking TV ads say... "It's enough to make you sick, VERY SICK!"

Up to 70% of people in western countries are classified as overweight or worse still obese. There is the subcutaneous fat that resides on your "tummy" plus the visceral fat also known as "organ" fat that gathers around your internal organs. Both types are dangerous & encourage a variety of life threatening ailments but the latter is even more sinister because it has been proven that visceral fat consistently releases high levels of inflammatory molecules in to the body.

Sugar in all its disguises sabotages the healthy operation of the human body by triggering an unhealthy level of insulin production. Heightened blood sugar levels increases LDL particles (low density lipoproteins) in the bloodstream which are colloquially known as "bad cholesterol" particles & are responsible for plaque blockages in the arteries which encourages heart disease.

Sugar also has addictive qualities the equal of any illicit drug, stimulating the "reward" centres of the brain which builds an inherent need for sugar which over time sees the body require more & more of the "sweet drug" to attain the same satisfaction levels. The net result is the quality of your diet & health goes into freefall.
Even more disturbing is the latest research that shows that tumours have insulin receptors & if there are tumours present in the body any insulin "spikes" (caused by excess sugar) will feed their growth & promote the onset of cancer.

Sugar is infecting the world like a plague & is a major component in nearly all processed foods & I'm not just referring to cookies, pastries, chocolates & cakes (up to 71% sugar), soft drinks (up to 94% sugar) & mainstream cereals (up to 56% sugar). It is also ever present in all sauces & dressings (up to 50% sugar), jam, marmalade & other spreads (up to 60% sugar) & lollies / dried fruit (up to 80% sugar). Coupled with this sugar is also a prominent ingredient in white flour which is used to make pasta & bread amongst numerous other daily consumables. Don't even start me on fruit juices; yes they are loaded with sugar too.

Shall we talk about "high fructose corn syrup" (HFCS) the high profile sugar substitute that is now a staple ingredient in so many grocery lines. Let's just say this additive has all the same "dire" qualities of sugar but with one added downside. We know that the human body processes HFCS differently than sugar & what we don't know can certainly hurt us.

"This is the bitter truth for those with a sweet tooth."

Health & Fitness Expert Lester Burnem writes exclusively for http://the4hourbodyblog.com/


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