Side Effects - Sugar Consumption

SOME SIDE EFFECTS OF EXCESS SUGAR CONSUMPTION:

Cancer, Inflammation, Diabetes, Acne, Heart Disease, Weight, Depression

Sugar is a HUGE problem in our society in so many ways … inflammation, diabetes, cancer, weight, acne, depression and on and on and on! Years ago I read a book (Sugar Blues) that said, “If ever there were a drug that had as many side effects as sugar, it would be removed immediately”!

So what’s our answer?

Instead of drinking water, herbal teas etc , we try to replicate the “sweet” drink with dangerous and unhealthy substances like splenda, asparatame etc. found in the “no sugar, diet” drinks, yogurts, gums, cookies, ice creams and lots more!! Our problems will simply INCREASE if we do this. We get fatter and our health diseases increase!! We should NOT substitute synthetics for sugar…. Read Dr. Chaney’s information below that explains what happens when you resort to the synthetic sweeteners.

Let’s face facts … have a “treat” once in a while using natural products like stevia, agave, honey, or sugar and then on a daily basis EAT HEALTHY, WHOLESOME FOODS, EXERCISE, GET SUFFICIENT SLEEP and our bodies will love us! Excess weight and disease will be a thing of the past. Non-nutritious foods and drugs are truly our downfall … we can do better.

Lorri

PS: When we look at sugar and the impact that it has on our body I would encourage you to go here for greater insight and more ideas: http://www.experiencelifemag.com/issues/july-august-2006/healthy-eating/sugar-breakdown.html

Something that I’ve found that curbs my sugar hunger is to start my day with a Shaklee Shake along with Vitalizer and Vivix … Shaklee’s resveratrol plus product (look at the article at the very bottom … you will find this VERY INTERESTING WHEN IT COMES TO WEIGHT!). Then late morning or early afternoon I start drinking on a 16 oz bottle of water that I have added 2 Pomegranate Cinch Teas. Lorri

Here's a really great reason to SLOW DOWN ON THE SUGAR! Change your mind first with a little bit of education, then your habits change much easier!

Cut Out Sugary Soda to Avoid Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest of all cancers. Nearly 45,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer were diagnosed in 2009 in the United States, and more than 35,000 deaths due to this disease occurred during the same year.

A new study reveals that certain sugar-rich foods and drinks, as well as lifestyle choices, could play a role in developing this devastating form of cancer.

The vast majority of patients are already incurable at the time of diagnosis, and overall, five-year survival rates remain a dismal 5 percent at this time. Even among the small minority of patients who are diagnosed with pancreas cancer at a relatively early stage, when the tumor is still confined to the pancreas, the five-year survival rate is only in the 15 percent to 20 percent range.

The only possible hope for pancreatic cancer cure is very radical surgery, which is often followed by chemotherapy and radiation therapy. For most patients with pancreatic cancer, however, surgery is not even an option due to the advanced stage of their disease. Therefore, efforts to prevent pancreas cancer are critically important in decreasing the death rate from this aggressive and treatment-resistant type of cancer.

There are several known risk factors for pancreatic cancer. These include smoking, obesity, diabetes, chronic pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), and chronic liver disease. Because of the known links between pancreatic cancer, diabetes, and obesity, there is concern that regularly consuming foods that significantly elevate the level of glucose (sugar) in the blood may also increase the risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

A new large-scale prospective public health study, just published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, adds further evidence that the regular consumption of sugar-rich foods may indeed increase the risk of developing this deadly type of cancer.

In this study, nearly 61,000 patient volunteers within the Singapore Chinese Health Study were followed for up to 14 years by researchers. All of these volunteers were extensively surveyed regarding their consumption of juices, sugary sodas, and other dietary items. Additionally, other lifestyle factors and environmental exposures linked to various types of cancer were assessed.

Within 14 years of the beginning of this study, 140 new cases of pancreatic cancer were diagnosed within this group of patient volunteers. When the researchers analyzed all of their data, they discovered that the consumption of two or more sodas per week was associated with nearly twice the risk of developing pancreatic cancer when compared to not drinking any sodas at all (there appeared to be no link between juice intake and pancreatic cancer risk).

The findings of this study add further evidence to previous similar studies regarding the intake of so-called “high-glycemic index” foods and pancreatic cancer risk. As these same sugar-rich foods also directly contribute to the development of both diabetes and obesity, it is not surprising that scientists have begun to identify common biochemical pathways that link excessive calorie intake from sugar-rich foods with all three of these life-threatening diseases.

I will be discussing the known risk factors (and evidence-based prevention strategies) for pancreatic cancer and for many other cancers in greater detail in my new book, "A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race," which is due to be published in the spring of this year.

Meanwhile, if you currently drink sodas containing sucrose or fructose on a regular basis, you might want to seriously consider eliminating these soft drinks from your diet altogether.

"Are "zero calorie" foods making you fat?"

That question might seem like a no-brainer. Eating calorie-free foods rather than foods that contain

calories has to be helpful in keeping your weight under control. Right?

Maybe not. Let's investigate that question by looking at calorie-free soft drinks. What does the evidence actually show?

Between the years 1987 and 2000 the number of people drinking calorie free soft drinks in this country increased from 70 million to 160 million.

During that same period of time:

- the percentage of adults who were overweight increased from 52% to 66%.

- the percentage of adults who were obese (obese is defined as a BMI greater than 30) increased from 20% to 32%

- the percentage of children who were obese increased from 10% to 17%.

Something clearly isn't working. "Why is that?" you might ask.

The answer is that we are using these calorie-free soft drinks to wash down Big Macs plus fries, Mrs.

Fields' super-size brownies and Starbucks' chocolate chip muffins. Is that just coincidence or is something else going on here? To answer that question we might want to consider a recent study that looked at the effect of soft drink consumption on obesity and the health consequences associated with obesity.

That study followed 6039 participants in the Framingham Heart study for four years (Dhingra et al, Circulation, 116: 480-488, 2007). All of the participants were free of metabolic syndrome, a medical condition associated with obesity that greatly increases the risk of diabetes and heart disease, at the beginning of the study.

As they had expected the scientists found that those subjects who consumed one or more sugar-containing soft drinks a day were 48% more likely to develop obesity and metabolic syndrome than subjects who consumed water or other natural beverages that were low in sugar.

But the scientists were astounded to find that subjects who consumed one or more diet soft drinks a day were just as likely to develop obesity and metabolic syndrome as subjects who consumed regular soft drinks!

This could not be explained by differences in their diet or exercise levels. Simple put the food choices

of the all three groups were equally bad and they exercised to about the same extent - which wasn't very much.

The authors were at a loss to explain their results.

- Some experts think that the effects are all psychological. The theory is that we think we are being virtuous by drinking zero calorie soft drinks, so we give ourselves permission to eat more high fat, high calorie foods.

- Other experts think that the effects are chemical. The theory is that the high sweetness of both diet and regular soft drinks causes the brain to release chemicals that make us crave other sweet foods - so we eat more.

Even though the mechanism of the effect is unclear, the results are crystal clear. The authors of the study concluded "In middle-aged adults, soft-drink consumption [both diet and regular] is associated with a higher prevalence of obesity and increased incidence of multiple metabolic risk factors [for diabetes and heart disease]".

So the next time you reach for that "zero calorie" soft drink or the packets of "zero calorie" sweeteners to add to your coffee or tea, just be aware that there is no evidence that they are useful in helping you control your weight.

And there is some evidence that they may even be making your weight control problems worse by encouraging you to eat high calorie foods to go along with them. The real key is moderation (isn't it always) – but that's the topic for next week's "Health Tips From the Professor"

To Your Health!

Dr. Stephen G Chaney