I had to do it. I wasn’t sure if I was going to write anything about sugar but I couldn’t help myself. READ THIS PLEASE:
Dr. Robert Lustig, a professor of Clinical Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology in the University of California and a pioneer in decoding sugar metabolism, says that “your body can safely metabolize six teaspoons of added sugar per day.”
That’s six teaspoons ONLY. Don’t ever forget that number. If you drink a can of Coke, you’re over your limit. Check labels and make sure you stay under that six teaspoon limit per day if you want to limit your body’s diseases.
But — since most Americans are consuming over three times that amount, or more, the majority of the excess sugar becomes metabolized into body fat – leading to all the debilitating chronic metabolic diseases many people are struggling with. That’s right, if you eat too much sugar, you’re going to most likely have more disease.
Here are some of the effects that consuming too much sugar has on your health and something you should consider if you’re trying to look good again and not weight so much:
- It overloads and damages your liver.The effects of too much sugar or fructose can be likened to the effects of alcohol. All the fructose you eat gets shuttled to the only organ that has the transporter for it: your liver. This severely taxes and overloads your liver, leading to potential liver damage.
- It tricks your body into gaining weight and affects your insulin and leptin signaling.Fructose fools your metabolism by turning off your body’s appetite-control system. Wow that means you won’t know when you’ve had too much to eat. It fails to stimulate insulin, which in turn fails to suppress ghrelin, or “the hunger hormone,” which then fails to stimulate leptin or “the satiety hormone.” This causes you to eat more and develop insulin resistance
- It causes metabolic dysfunction.Eating too much sugar causes a barrage of symptoms known as classic metabolic syndrome. These include weight gain, abdominal obesity, decreased HDL and increased LDL, elevated blood sugar, elevated triglycerides, and high blood pressure.
- It increases your uric acid levels.High uric acid levels are a risk factor for heart and kidney disease. In fact, the connection between fructose, metabolic syndrome, and your uric acid is now so clear that your uric acid level can now be used as a marker for fructose toxicity.
According to the latest research, the safest range of uric acid is between 3 to 5.5 milligrams per deciliter. If your uric acid level is higher than this, then it’s clear that you are at risk to the negative health impacts of fructose.
Sugar Increases Your Risk of Disease
One of the most severe effects of eating too much sugar is its potential to wreak havoc on your liver, leading to a condition known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This is really bad. You may not think so – but it is.
Yes, the same disease that you can get from excessive alcohol intake can also be caused by excessive sugar (fructose) intake. Dr. Lustig explained the three similarities between alcohol and fructose:2
- Your liver metabolizes alcohol the same way as sugar, as both serve as substrates for converting dietary carbohydrate into fat. This promotes insulin resistance, fatty liver, and dyslipidemia (abnormal fat levels in your blood)
- Fructose undergoes the “Maillard reaction” with proteins. This causes superoxide free radicals to form, resulting in inflammation – a condition that can be also caused by acetaldehyde, a metabolite of ethanol
- Fructose can directly and indirectly stimulate the brain’s “hedonic pathway,”creating habituation and dependence, the same way that ethanol does. Your best bet. Avoid sugar at all costs. If you can cut out the six teaspoons, then do it. If you want to talk to me more about this, CALL NOW!