Sugar: A Big & Avoidable Inflammatory Culprit

Inflammation is a natural healing response in the body. When you cut yourself, you may experience a bit of heat, redness, swelling, and pain in that area of your skin as your body begins the process of healing itself. This is the first stage of the healing process for wounds or trauma to the body.

Most diseases begin with the onset of inflammation, most likely due to diet, lifestyle, or the environment, as the body is trying to heal itself from the effects of these factors. However, when our bodies are continually inflamed due to overexposure of certain elements, it becomes chronic and can lead to conditions, like Alzheimer’s, cancer, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and a host of other illnesses.

The average American is exposed, on a regular basis, to sugar, one of the biggest culprits of inflammation. Most people consume it mindlessly as it inundates most of our favorite comfort foods. Whether we think about it or not, most of us are exceeding the amount sugar to the point of causing harm to our bodies.

How does sugar cause inflammation?

Too much sugar in the diet causes the pancreas to overwork in producing too much insulin (a process that is supposed to bring the blood-sugar levels back into balance by removing glucose from the bloodstream and into the cells for energy). With these high levels of insulin, our body is stimulated to create cytokines, pro-inflammatory chemicals which can lead to insulin resistance. Obesity and diabetes are by-products of insulin resistance.

Excessive sugar in the blood also causes the body to create more free radicals in the blood, which roam the body, damaging cells. With cell damage, the free radicals stimulate an immune response which can lead to the inflammation of the blood vessels leading to the heart.

Where is sugar found?

Sometimes, sugar is very obvious to us when it’s found in products like candy, table sugar, sodas, and pastries. However, most people don’t think to look at fruit juices or carbohydrates, such as white flour, white rice, pastas, grains, and other processed foods.

Our bodies use carbohydrates for energy. If we’re consuming carbohydrates and are not turning them into energy by engaging in a physical activity, those carbs will turn into sugar. Excessive intake of carbohydrates will have the same effect on your body as eating too much sugar.

But sugar isn’t always so easy to find in over-the-counter products. There are a number of names that it hides behind such as maltose, dextrose, fructose, lactose, sucrose, honey, corn sweetener, isolated malt extract, molasses, fruit juice concentrate, and high fructose corn syrup to name a few. Although sugar alcohols, such as xylitol, sorbitol, and mannitol, contain fewer calories than sugar, they are still comprised of carbohydrates. Therefore, they may still increase the glucose level in the blood, leading to increased insulin production.

Lately, other “natural,” plant-based sweeteners have flooded the market, claiming to be better for you than sugar. Agave nectar, coconut nectar, and brown rice syrup have been introduced as healthier alternatives to sugar. Although it was originally touted as one of the best sugar alternatives, many of its original supports have now pulled back their support of agave nectar as it is very high in fructose. Research suggests that excessive fructose consumption can wreak havoc on your liver, causing fatty liver disease, since it is metabolized in the liver, and lead to obesity.

Coconut nectar, made from the flowering stems of the coconut plant, contains a fiber called inulin, which helps to keep blood glucose levels in check; however, it has the same number of calories and carbohydrates as table sugar. Therefore, it may not necessarily result in inflammation, but it can still lead to obesity, which in turn can lead to other health problems, if overused.

Brown rice syrup is made from whole grain rice. It has more calories than sugar and is very high on the glycemic index because it causes the blood sugar level to spike very quickly.

How much sugar do you really need?

Sugar is used by the body to deliver energy to cells. But the body doesn’t need that much sugar to produce energy for it to function. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), women should consume no more than 6 teaspoons (25 grams) of added sugar per day while men should limit their intake to 9 teaspoons (38 grams). For children, the AHA recommends a range between 3-6 teaspoons (12 – 25 grams) per day, depending on their age and caloric needs. Putting this into perspective, a small child should have no more sugar than what’s found in one medium apple, 19 grams. Both men and women should avoid soda altogether, with a 12oz can having up to 39 grams.  However, depending on your particular health condition, it may be wise to significantly reduce, or eliminate sugar consumption, if possible.

How addictive is sugar? 

If sugar can trigger inflammation, which can lead to a myriad of diseases, why is it so hard to kick sugar to the curb?

Sugar is often eaten as a reward or in celebration. Think about birthday parties, the last retirement party that you attended, or a celebratory dinner out with friends. It’s rare to attend a birthday or retirement party without cake or cupcakes. When you’re out to dinner with a group of friends, the dessert cart always comes around and there’s always that one friend who will urge the group to indulge.

Eating sugar gives you a temporary “good” feeling. This is because in its consumption, dopamine, your natural “feel-good” neurotransmitter, is released in your brain. When high amounts of sugar are consumed, a large amount of dopamine is released. With regular consumption of sugary foods, the dopamine production begins to decrease. Therefore, you’ll need to eat even more sugary foods in order to get the same “high” you initially had. Scientists at the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse showed that sugar causes changes in the brain that are similar to those with addictions to cocaine and alcohol.

I have a friend who had been successful in cutting out sugar for almost a year. She ate a mostly raw/vegan diet as well. However, she began to endure some very difficult times emotionally. One day, she happened to pass a candy aisle at her local grocery store. Although it had never been a problem for her before, she found herself walking down the aisle and right up to her favorite candy. She purchased a few boxes and thus, began a sugar habit that she found very difficult to kick, even though she had been very successful in doing so before. To her, eating this candy soothed her. However, it later led to inflammation in her colon, causing frequent bouts of pain.

Just recently, I met someone who ate raw vegan for many years. Although his main meals were very healthy, he admitted that he would also have about three raw vegan desserts during his meals. In our conversation, he admitted that this was most likely due to heightened sugar cravings, where he was almost embarassed to concede that it was an addiction.  I commented that with such a strong interest on his part to be healthy, there could perhaps be another underlying reason for this addiction to sweets.  Indeed, at times, we may need to examine areas of our lives that may, perhaps, not be so fulfilling, where we subconsciously make an attempt “sweeten” it up through what we eat.

How Do You Turn This Addiction Around?

Addictions are usually the result of people trying to feel better because of emotional trauma or frequent bouts of stress. If you’re someone who is dealing with this challenge, here’s what you can do:

1. Give yourself some self-compassion. Realize that you are not alone in that everyone, at one time or another, will have experienced either some trauma, or some unpleasant experience in life.  Rather than beat yourself up for what did or did not happen, send yourself some loving affirmations.
2. Spend time in meditation, where you can become still enough to become aware of some of the feelings that you may consciously be suppressing.  Allow these feelings to come up and just observe and acknowledge they are there.
3. Have a regular journaling practice, where you either write down your experiences, thoughts, and feelings in a notebook, or perhaps in an App or software on your computer. Writing helps to organize your thoughts and feelings, so that you can begin to separate them out, gaining valuable insights on how or why you think and feel the way you do.
4. Speak to a friend or counselor about your emotional turmoil. Often, in verbalizing what’s been bottled up within, you may feel like it creates an opening for some of the negative aspects to flow out, while receiving some objective counsel from someone you trust.
5. Find physical activities that can help you clear your mind, such as going for a walk outside or hitting the gym. Physical exercise releases endorphins which can also give you a temporary “high” and is much better for you than ingesting copious amounts of sugar.

When eliminating sugar, you will experience some withdrawal effects. Headaches and sluggishness are common. However, rest assured, these affects usually only last for a few days. Although withdrawing from sugar may seem difficult in the beginning, you’ll begin to have increased energy and better mental clarity once excess sugar has been eliminated from your system.

Is there a healthy way to sweeten your food?

If you can’t avoid sweets altogether, there are a few alternatives that are a bit healthier for you than sugar or sugar alcohols.

Stevia is a great alternative as it is made from the stevia plant, and contains zero calories, so it will not raise your blood-glucose level. In fact, some forms of stevia, containing stevioside, which can actually lower your glucose levels. However, most over-the-counter forms of stevia, found in your typical grocery stores, do not contain stevioside and will not produce this effect.

Another alternative that you may not be aware of is Luo Han Kuo (羅 漢 果), or monk fruit, extract, which comes from the southern part of Chinese.  As such, it has been used for thousands of years as a sweetener and even to treat diabetes and obesity. This sweetener is also a zero-calorie sweetener. What’s unique to Luo Han Kuo extract is the fact that its sweetness does not come from fructose. It comes from antioxidants called mogrosides, which the body metabolizes differently than other sugars. Because mogrosides are antioxidants, they reduce free radical damage in the body. Monk fruit is also naturally anti-inflammatory. Therefore, it can be used without the fear of inflammation and all of its associated diseases.

Are you dealing with a sugar addiction? Do you use it as a reward or for comfort? Remember that food is meant to nourish our bodies, not to cause harm. You don’t have to deprive yourself of sweet things, just choose wisely when selecting what you allow to enter your body so that you can love your life and live in health.

If you are dealing with any sort of chronic health condition, examining your sugar consumption would be a first important step to regaining your health. You don’t have to go through this alone, so reach out to me for a consultation on how to rid yourself of this culprit that has sneaked into so many of the foods you find in the markets nowadays.

Ready to make your health a priority? Contact me here to schedule your consultation.

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