n case you needed any more convincing that sugar is bad for your health, here is the relationship that sugar has to our immune system. Specifically, vitamin-C is needed by white blood cells so that they can devour viruses and bacteria. White blood cells require a 50 times higher concentration inside the cell than outside, so they have to accumulate vitamin-C.
There is something called a phagocytic index which tells you how rapidly a particular macrophage or lymphocyte can gobble up a virus, bacteria, or cancer cells. It was in the 1970′s that it was learned that white blood cells need a high dose of vitamin-C in order to function effectively. This is where the theory came from that you need high doses of vitamin-C to combat the common cold.
We know that glucose and vitamin-C have similar chemical structures, so what happens when the sugar levels in our blood go up? They compete for one another upon entering the cells. The same source (insulin) that mediates the entry of glucose into the cells is the same one that mediates the entry of vitamin-C into the cells. If there is more glucose around, there is going to be less vitamin-C allowed into the cell. It doesn’t take much: a blood sugar value of 120 reduces the phagocytic index by 75 percent. When you eat sugar, you are literally slowing your immune system down to a crawl.
Understanding this allows us to get a little bit closer to the root of all disease. It doesn’t matter what disease we are talking about, whether it’s the common cold or about cardiovascular disease, or cancer or osteoporosis, the root is always going to be at the cellular and molecular level. Insulin will likely be a participating mechanism, and likely one of the main factors.
The health dangers which ingesting sugar on an habitual basis creates are certain. Simple sugars have been observed to aggravate asthma, contribute to mood swings, are a factor in personality changes, as well as mental illness, promote nervous disorders, cause diabetes, hasten heart disease, cause the growth of gallstones, contribute to hypertension, as well as arthritis.
Refined dietary sugars lack minerals and vitamins, they must draw upon the body’s micro-nutrient stores in order to be metabolized into the system. When these storehouses are depleted, metabolization of cholesterol and fatty acids is impeded, contributing to higher blood serum triglycerides, cholesterol, and serve to promote obesity due to higher fatty acid storage around organs and in sub-cutaneous tissue folds.
Seeing as sugar is devoid of minerals, vitamins, fiber, and has such a deteriorating effect on the endocrine system, major researchers and major health organizations like the American Dietetic Association and the American Diabetic Association agree that sugar consumption is one of the three major causes of degenerative disease.
There are four classes of simple sugars which are regarded by most nutritionists as harmful to optimal health when prolonged consumption in amounts above 15 percent of the carbohydrate calories are ingested: Sucrose, fructose, honey, and malts.
You may be surprised to find honey here. Although honey is a natural sweetener, it is considered a refined sugar because 96 percent of dry matter are simple sugars: fructose, glucose and sucrose. It is little wonder that the honey bear is the only animal found in nature with a problem with tooth-decay. This is because honey decays teeth faster than table sugar. Honey has the highest calorie content of all sugars with 65 calories per tablespoon, compared to the 48 calories per tablespoon found in table sugar. The increased calories are bound to cause increased blood serum fatty acids, as well as weight gain, on top of the risk of more cavities.
Pesticides used on farm crops and residential flowers have been found in commercial honey. Honey can be fatal to an infant whose immature digestive tracts are unable to deal effectively with botulinum spore growth. What nutrients or enzymes raw honey does contain are destroyed by manufacturers who heat it in order to give it a clear appearance to enhance sales. If you are going to consume honey, make sure it is raw, unheated honey. Good to use in special cures, but not as an everyday food. It is not much better than white or brown sugar.
Happy Lifting!
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