Sugar myth busters

In a world of fad diets and health myths, its often hard to know which advice to follow and which information is actually credible- especially in terms of certain 'foods' we should be avoiding and why. We have been conditioned to hear the words 'carbs, 'fat' and 'sugar' and automatically think we should be avoiding these evils at all costs, forgetting that the kinds of unhealthy carbs, fat and sugar should really be proceeded by the word 'refined'. Yes, an excess of sugar is bad, but let’s not discard all sugars. Let me first begin by saying, refined sugar is not a food, it has zero nutritional value and, unfortunately, today we can find it in just about all packed or processed foods- from cough syrup and breakfast cereals to breads and ready meals (even sushi is not free of sugar!). So, if you are often partial to a classic take away meal, or a readymade snack, it’s really near on impossible to avoid refined sugars. The problem with refined sugars is that they have been robbed of all the extra nutrients they have naturally. High-fructose corn syrup, for instance, obviously comes from corn, but it is not natural. It has been processed to such an extent that it is now an isolated nutrient- devoid of anything actually nutritious. Studies have shown that the body, essentially, treats these 'isolated nutrients' as foreign substances and doesn't know how to do anything productive with them, so they are discarded and stored away. This doesn't mean your body has no use for sugars at all though. Paul Pritchard, in his book “Healing with Whole Foods “(page 189), sums up this use and misuse of sugar nicely in saying "sugar is a major life force and our bodies need it as fuel to feed the ongoing fire of life's process, the sugars in whole foods are balanced with the proper minerals, the energy obtained from breaking down and assimilating these sugars is of a constant and enduing nature. When natural sugar is refined and concentrated, the life force is dispersed and the natural balance upset. Refined sugar passes quickly into the bloodstream in large amount, giving the stomach and pancreas a shock. An acid condition forms which consumes the body's minerals quickly. Thus calcium is lost from the system, causing bone problems. The digestive system is weakened and food cannot be digested or assimilated properly, this leads to a blood- sugar imbalance and to further craving for sugar." Here, Prichard is basically describing how sugar addictions are created. Your body craves what it is needing, and when you are constantly giving it the wrong things, i.e. refined sugars instead of whole food sugar, these cravings will not subside. Sugars, such as sucrose, in the whole form, have little negative effect on the body, but, in the refined state, these sugars can upset the blood- sugar balance. Before you go and give up sugar all together, let’s take a look at the good kind- full of nutrients that are extremely beneficial to your overall health. First up- Honey. Yes, honey is highly refined by bees and as it is sweeter and requires very little digestion so it is assimilated directly into the bloodstream. However, honey contains many minerals and enzymes, thus, it does not upset the body's mineral balance in the way that white sugar does. Whilst honey does contain more calories that refined white sugar, raw honey (in moderation, of course) does not encourage weight gain and actually has many healing properties. It is often used for the relief of respiratory tract infections and allergic reactive illnesses such as hay fever, asthma and bronchitis. We all know fruits contain sugar, but together with their vitamin and mineral content- they do far more good than bad. Very sweet fruits such as bananas, dates and figs, can hinder weight if used in excess, but they do have many healing properties as well. Bananas are rich in potassium and are used universally for hypertension as they can reduce blood pressure, are easy to digest and help detoxify the body. Figs are one of the most alkalizing foods, balancing acidic conditions that result from a diet rich in meat and refined food. Dates are also an excellent source of potassium, also containing iron, calcium and fibre, making them very beneficial for pancreatic cells. In sum, sugar isn't bad, refined sugars are. So when looking at cutting certain things out of your diet, keep in mind their beneficial and nutritious properties, look at ways at enhancing these instead of filling up on the highly refined and concentrated versions.