Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Sugar's effect on your health

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 cell. It was in the 1970's that Linus Pauling realized that white blood cells need a high dose of vitamin C and that is when he came up with his theory 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 go up? They compete for one another upon entering the cells. And the thing that mediates the entry of glucose into the cells is the same thing 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%.

So when you eat sugar, think of your immune system slowing down to a crawl. Here we are getting a little bit closer to the roots of disease. It doesn't matter what disease we are talking about, whether we are talking about a common cold or about cardiovascular disease, or cancer or osteoporosis, the root is always going to be at the cellular and molecular level, and more often than not insulin is going to have its hand in it, if not totally controlling it.

The health dangers which ingesting sugar on an habitual basis creates are certain. Simple sugars have been observed to aggravate asthma, move mood swings, provoke personality changes, muster mental illness, nourish nervous disorders, deliver diabetes, hurry heart disease, grow gallstones, hasten hypertension, and add arthritis. Because 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 acid is impeded, contributing to higher blood serum triglycerides, cholesterol, promoting obesity due to higher fatty acid storage around organs and in sub-cutaneous tissue folds.

Here is a list of ways sugar can affect your health:

Sugar can suppress the immune system. 
Sugar can upset the body's mineral balance.
Sugar can contribute to hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, concentration difficulties, and crankiness in children. 
Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides. 
Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children. 
Sugar can reduce helpful high density cholesterol (HDLs). 
Sugar can promote an elevation of harmful cholesterol (LDLs). 
Sugar can cause hypoglycemia. 
Sugar contributes to a weakened defense against bacterial infection. 
Sugar can cause kidney damage. 
Sugar can increase the risk of coronary heart disease. 
Sugar may lead to chromium deficiency. 
Sugar can cause copper deficiency. 
Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium. 
Sugar can increase fasting levels of blood glucose. 
Sugar can promote tooth decay. 
Sugar can produce an acidic stomach. 
Sugar can raise adrenaline levels in children. 
Sugar can lead to periodontal disease. 
Sugar can speed the aging process, causing wrinkles and grey hair. 
Sugar can increase total cholesterol. 
Sugar can contribute to weight gain and obesity. 
High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. 
Sugar can contribute to diabetes. 
Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis. 
Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity. 
Sugar leads to decreased glucose tolerance. 
Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease. 
Sugar can increase systolic blood pressure. 
Sugar causes food allergies. 
Sugar can cause free radical formation in the bloodstream. 
Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy. 
Sugar can contribute to eczema in children. 
Sugar can overstress the pancreas, causing damage. 
Sugar can cause atherosclerosis. 
Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries. 
Sugar can cause liver cells to divide, increasing the size of the liver. 
Sugar can increase the amount of fat in the liver. 
Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney. 
Sugar can cause depression. 
Sugar can increase the body's fluid retention. 
Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance. 
Sugar can cause hypertension. 
Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines. 
Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha and theta brain waves, which can alter the mind's ability to think clearly. 
Sugar can increase blood platelet adhesiveness which increases risk of blood clots and strokes. 
Sugar can increase insulin responses in those consuming high-sugar diets compared to low sugar diets. 
Sugar increases bacterial fermentation in the colon.

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