We want to talk about Sugar!
Sugar is a popular health topic at the moment. There has been a lot of media coverage in the past year about this common part of our diet with many claiming that sugar is 'toxic' and even 'poison'.
Do you know why? How much sugar are you consuming? Is it really harming your health?
For many of us it's difficult to measure and therefore impossible to know what health complications it may be causing us. We want to break it down for you, keep things simple so that you can make the best choices for yourself and for your family.
The fact is our bodies are not designed to digest or metabolise refined sugar. The problem is refined sugar is everywhere, often hidden in foods which are labelled or marketed as 'healthy', ' low fat' or 'natural'. You might be asking 'what about naturally occurring sugars such as fruit, honey, maple syrup or agave syrup'. These sugars are acceptable in very small amounts (1 to 2 teaspoons max daily) however consuming such a small amount is very difficult. With the exception of fresh fruit at 1 to 2 serves per day and perhaps a teaspoon of honey if you are unwell these sugars should also be avoided.
Chiropractor's perspective - Dr Tom Dawson
Sugar it seems is nearly in everything,
added to foods sometimes in big quantities, but why is it bad? Well here is the great news, Sugar is NOT BAD
for you! In fact the body breaks down a
lot of our foods, the ones we call CARBOHYDRATES into sugar because it is so
important to how much energy you have and how well your BRAIN works. Did you know that your brain actually runs
exclusively on SUGAR? If our sugar
levels in our blood get too low we cant think or even function properly. So eat as much sugar as you like right…..
WRONG
Here is the problem: unless we actually
USE that sugar for energy and for brain power it has a BAD effect on the body.
In Australia and most of the western world our diets are extremely HIGH IN
SUGAR and we are NOT USING this energy that the body has to do something with
all the excess. It stores this excess as
FAT, bad fat that hangs around your middle and your organs that lead to choking
your blood vessels and increasing your blood pressure and INCREASING YOUR RISK
OF diseases like CANCER, DIABETES and HEART DISEASE. Sugar also STIMULATES BRAIN ACTIVITY and can
be a factor in children with problems like ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER.
Our Nutritionist and Naturopath Sarah-Jane Purnell will explain how all this happens and what YOU can do to AVOID EXCESS SUGAR in your diets. Like most things, a little is OK, too much is VERY BAD FOR YOU.
Myotherapist's perspective - Clare Sullivan
It is amazing how often my clients with chronic
pain, energy and immune issues often have digestive troubles and diets that may
seem “healthy” but can be full of sugar. I’m so fortunate to work alongside
naturopath and nutritionist Sarah-Jane Purnell, who is an expert in this field-
I have referred many of my clients to her, with wonderful results.
Refined sugar contains no fibre, no
minerals, no proteins, no fats, and no enzymes. It is an “empty” form of
energy. Refined sugar is quickly digested and passes into the blood stream
giving us what is commonly known as a ‘sugar high’. The pH of our blood
changes when this occurs making it more acidic. Our bodies don’t like being
acidic so they will use minerals such as calcium and magnesium to help buffer
our blood.Calcium is leached from our bones and magnesium from our bones and
muscles. This is not good as calcium is a critical mineral for bone
strength and magnesium is a vital mineral for many of our metabolic processes,
including muscle contraction. Magnesium depletion leads to side effects
such as muscle tension, nervous tension, and muscle cramps.
So…when you eat sugar, your body borrows
precious nutrients that are essential for your body to function at its best.
B-vitamins are another group of nutrients that are used to metabolise
refined sugar. B-vitamins are essential for energy production in the cell and
to support proper nervous system functioning.
Refined sugar stimulates your sympathetic
nervous system, which results in muscular tension. Sugar can
lead to increased body weight, which places unnecessary strain on
your muscular and skeletal systems.
Refined
sugar decreases your immunity, making the healing process after
musculoskeletal injuries more difficult. The sugar blocks vitamin C which
is important for wound healing and it also lowers white blood cell count if
consumed in excess.
If you would like to organise a consultation for
dietary support, Sarah-Jane can be contacted through our front desk on 9882
7135. There are also so many fantastic health resources on the web (too
many to name). Sarah
Wilson and Jessica Ainscough’s websites are two of my favourites - Clare
Kinesiologist's perspective - Gae O'Neil Donnellon
A
challenge for parents today is to support our children to live happily with a
generous uptake of nutrients and a balanced relationship with food. With the
alarming rise of Type II diabetes and other childhood health concerns, is it
time for us to tune in and recognize a poor diet that needs to be rectified, a
child who needs support with a sugar addiction and how saying ‘no’ to junk
food can sometimes be a great act of love?
We are all bombarded with advertising. Products
offering us the sugar hit and processed “energy boosts” that create a need for
the treat.
Sugar addiction often comes from a deep seated
emotional need, that of comfort and reinforcement of good behavior as children,
leading to poor dietary habits as adults.
Poor health statistics in the adult population speak
for themselves.
Kinesiology can help you make changes in your life,
enhancing wellbeing and personal empowerment.
Your
body is the best home you will ever live in
Look
after it!
Nutritionist and Naturopath's perspective - Sarah-Jane Purnell
So hopefully if you have read to this stage you are getting the idea about why sugar is not that great for us. In my opinion reducing or eliminating sugar from the diet is one of the best choices you will ever make for your health and my role is to support and make the transition to a low sugar or sugar 'free' diet as easy as possible.
As humans we are designed to be attracted to foods that are calorie dense. These foods are easily converted into body fat and therefore we were able to survive if food was scarce for a period of time. It is one reason why sugar is so attractive to us. It makes us feel good by enhancing neurotransmitter function, our blood sugar rise gives us a 'buzz' and that sweet taste makes us come back for more and more.. How cruel then that this pleasurable eating experience is actually doing us harm. Today sugar is everywhere and most clients that I see are actually dependant on sugar without actually being aware they are consuming it. Sweet yoghurts, sauces, dressings, cereals, breads, spreads... the list goes on.
As Tom mentions sugar leads to weight gain and a major part of my weight management care approach involves getting clients off the hidden sugars. As Clare mentions sugar has a range of negative impacts on the muscloskeletal system not to mention the immune and digestive systems. Other health conditions I often see affected by a high sugar diet include:
* High cholesterol/high triglycerides
* Heart disease
* Diabetes
* Polycystic ovarian syndrome
* Auto-immune conditions
* Allergies
* Arthritis
* Depression/anxiety/ mental disorders
* Acne and other inflammatory skin conditions
* Candida & yeast infections
* Behavioural and learning difficulties in children
* Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)
* Cancer
* Alzheimers and dementia
* Premature ageing - wrinkles, loss of skin elasticity
Yes, that is a long list! And while sugar may not be a primary cause to these conditions (however in many it may be) it certainly will aggravate and worsen both symptoms and restoration to health.
Taking the next step:
As Gae mentioned there is often a significant emotional connection not to mention a physical addiction to sugar so making up your mind to 'quit' may not be as easy as you think. My advice is to firstly get your diet analysed. All of my clients will know one of the first things we do in a consultation is talk through your typical diet. Honesty is key here and I will insist that a food diary be completed with absolute accuracy. A client mentioned to me last week ' Had you asked me if I ate much sugar I would have definitely answered no however after completing a food diary I now realise how much sugar I was sneaking into my day without even thinking about it'.
Next I offer solutions and there are many depending on your situation. There are herbs available that block the taste of sugar on your tongue making a piece of chocolate taste like butter. There are nutrients that support a more stable blood sugar level and can control cravings. There are dietary choices that reduce your appetite for sugar and eventually have you genuinely not enjoying the stuff.
My personal advice is to get support and find out the best way for you. Hold yourself accountable and acknowledge that the process while not easy is going to leave you feeling fantastic. The most common reports from clients that commit to reducing sugar is 'incredible energy, i'm never hungry, glowing skin, less pain and all other food tastes better'.
If you'd like any more information then please send me an email at health@sarahjanepurnell.com.au
I'd love to help you find an even healthier you!
