In our new book The Micronutrient Miracle we reveal sugar’s numerous micronutrient-robbing traits that can eventually lead to obesity. (Believe it or not, in the U.S. today more high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is consumed than sugar!) As if micronutrient depletion and overeating isn’t enough, here are six more reasons to eliminate sugar and HFCS from your diet.
- It is most likely genetically modified (GMO). When you think of sugar, what comes to mind? Do you imagine a sugarcane plantation? Well, if you do, we need to introduce you to the sad reality of 21st century sugar. The truth is that 55 percent of the time you see sugar on the ingredients list it’s coming from the juice of a sugar beet, and, unfortunately, 100 percent of US sugar beets are genetically modified. And with 88 percent of all US corn being genetically modified, your odds aren’t much better when HFCS is on the label.
- Sugar is an addictive drug. Researchers in Bordeaux, France, demonstrated that “intense sweetness can surpass cocaine reward.” Yes, your gummy bears are more addictive than cocaine. No wonder so many people just can’t stop with one. Scientists from Princeton University explain that like many drugs, sugar causes a dopamine, or pleasure surge, in the brain and that removing sugar causes an opiate-like withdrawal “indicated by signs of anxiety and behavioral depression.”
- Sugar can cause insulin resistance. When you eat sugar, your blood sugar levels increase and your body secretes the hormone insulin to help regulate the levels. A diet filled with sugar causes the cells to become deaf, or resistant, to insulin, and insulin resistance, as it is termed, can lead to metabolic syndrome, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type-2 diabetes. And surprisingly, it doesn’t take very much sugar to see these negative effects. In a Harvard University study, researchers reported that drinking just one sugar-sweetened beverage a day increased the risk of type-2 diabetes by 83 percent.
- Sugar can cause cancer. Cancer, one of the leading causes of death worldwide, is characterized by uncontrolled growth and multiplication of cells. According to Lewis Cantley, PhD, director of the Cancer Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, as much as 80 percent of all cancers are “driven by either mutations or environmental factors that work to enhance or mimic the effect of insulin on the incipient tumor cells.” As we just revealed, increases in sugar result in increases of insulin. For this reason, many scientists believe that having constantly elevated insulin levels (a consequence of sugar consumption) can greatly increase the risk of cancer. Additionally, research has shown that cancer only has one fuel source. Can you guess what it is? Sugar! Not only is sugar lowering your immune system and creating a favorable environment for cancer to start, but it’s also providing the fuel that cancer needs to grow.
- Sugar intake correlates to heart disease. Thank goodness science is finally calling it like it is. For many years, saturated fat had been vilified as the cause of heart disease, the number-one killer in the world. But recently, the truth has come out that sugar, in all of its forms, is really to blame. According to a 2014 study in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, individuals who received between 17 and 21 percent of their calories from added sugar had a 38 percent higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to those who consumed just 8 percent of their calories from added sugars.
- Sugar shortens your lifespan. If you are looking to live a long life, than stop drinking sodas and sugary beverages! A 2014 study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that telomeres—protective DNA caps on the end of chromosomes—were shorter in people who reported habitually drinking more sugary beverages. Shorter telomeres are linked to accelerated DNA aging, and individuals who drank only 12 ounces of soda a day (a typical bottle) were found to have DNA changes typical of cells 4.6 years older. Kick the sugar habit before this soda-induced telomere shortening strikes years off your life.
Whoa! Both sugar and HFCS really do deserve to be ditched. Due to sugar’s micronutrient depleting effects as well as all of the other health conditions and diseases it can increase your risk for, why wouldn’t you want to ditch these sinister sweeteners?
In our upcoming book, The Micronutrient Miracle, we sack the sugar and teach you how a micronutrient rich (sugar free) diet can change your life in just days! Check it out here, it's available for pre-order now!
