The Science Behind the Law of Attraction Magazine May, June 2019 | Page 30

Demyst if ying Sugar :
Is Sugar Really Bad for you?
By Dr. Toni Camacho, Her balist
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the average American consumes
bet ween 150 and 170 pounds of ref ined sugars per year (about 18,506 t easpoons)! That?s A LOT
of sugar, especially when you compare it with the 4-6-pound yearly consumption of the early
1800s or even the high 90-pound annual consumption of the 1900s!
It?s hard to believe, right? Not really, when you consider that you are not just consuming sugar in
your coffee, sodas, candy, cookies, and baked goods. Surprisingly, it is also hidden in foods you
probably eat regularly, such as ketchup, BBQ sauces, tomato sauces, marinades, salad dressings,
yogurts, bread, protein bars, peanut butter, soups, canned fruits, cereals, crackers, oatmeal, frozen
dinners, etc.
Sugar comes in many forms, and some have names you probably don?t recognize on an ingredient
label since sometimes it is not labeled as sugar. Instead, you may see: dextrose, maltose, glucose,
fructose, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, corn sweetener, sucrose, sorbitol, sorghum syrup,
carbitol, evaporated cane juice, galactose, inversol, rice malt, sorbitol nectars, and others.
A t ip t o ident if ying sugars is l ooking f or words wit h ?ose? or ?ides? ending on t he ingredient
l abel .
Sugar can harm the body in countless ways, and it is a leading factor in the increase in obesity and
many other serious health complications in America. To understand why sugar is so harmful, you
must first know what it is made of: Before sugar leaves the digestive tract, it is composed of two
simple sugars, glucose and fructose. Gl ucose is an important energy source and easy to obtain. If
we are not eating it in our diets, our bodies will produce it. However, f ruct ose is different. Our
bodies do not produce much of it, and there is no proven physiological need for fructose at all.
Insul in ? a hormone in our body produced by the pancreas after you eat carbohydrates ? is
responsible for directing glucose into our cells to be used for energy. Insulin resistance is when
cells in your muscles, body fat and liver start ignoring the signal insulin is trying to send out. The
driving forces behind insulin resistance include excess body weight, too much belly fat, a lack of
exercise, smoking, and even skimping on sleep. Insulin resistance is thought to be a significant
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