How Much Sugar Are You Eating?

The average American consumes an astounding 2-3 pounds of sugar each week, which is not surprising considering that highly refined sugars in the forms of sucrose (table sugar), dextrose (corn sugar), and high-fructose corn syrup are being processed into so many foods such as bread, breakfast cereal, mayonnaise, peanut butter, ketchup, spaghetti sauce, and a plethora of microwave meals.
In the last 20 years, we have increased sugar consumption in the U.S. 26 pounds to 135 lbs. of sugar per person per year! Prior to the turn of this century (1887-1890), the average consumption was only 5 lbs. per person per year! Cardiovascular disease and cancer was virtually unknown in the early 1900's.
The "glycemic index" is a measure of how a given food affects blood-glucose levels, with each food being assigned a numbered rating. The lower the rating, the slower the absorption and digestion process, which provides a more gradual, healthier infusion of sugars into the bloodstream. On the other hand, a high rating means that blood-glucose levels are increased quickly, which stimulates the pancreas to secrete insulin to drop blood-sugar levels. These rapid fluctuations of blood-sugar levels are not healthy because of the stress they place on the body.
One of sugar's major drawbacks is that it raises the insulin level, which inhibits the release of growth hormones, which in turn depresses the immune system. This is not something you want to take place if you want to avoid disease.
An influx of sugar into the bloodstream upsets the body's blood-sugar balance, triggering the release of insulin, which the body uses to keep blood-sugar at a constant and safe level. Insulin also promotes the storage of fat, so that when you eat sweets high in sugar, you're making way for rapid weight gain and elevated triglyceride levels, both of which have been linked to cardiovascular disease. Complex carbohydrates tend to be absorbed more slowly, lessening the impact on blood-sugar levels.
Sugar depresses the immune system.
We have known this for decades. It was only in the 1970's that researchers found out that vitamin C was needed by white blood cells so that they could phagocytize viruses and bacteria. White blood cells require a 50 times higher concentration inside the cell as outside so they have to accumulate vitamin C.
There is something called a "phagocytic index" which tells you how rapidly a particular macrophage or lymphocyte can gobble up a virus, bacteria, or cancer cell. It was in the 1970's that Linus Pauling realized that white blood cells need a high dose of vitamin C and that is when he came up with his theory that you need high doses of vitamin C to combat the common cold.
We know that glucose and vitamin C have similar chemical structures, so what happens when the sugar levels go up? They compete for one another upon entering the cells. And the thing that mediates the entry of glucose into the cells is the same thing that mediates the entry of vitamin C into the cells. If there is more glucose around, there is going to be less vitamin C allowed into the cell. It doesn't take much: a blood sugar value of 120 reduces the phagocytic index by 75%. So when you eat sugar, think of your immune system slowing down to a crawl.
Here we are getting a little bit closer to the roots of disease. It doesn't matter what disease we are talking about, whether we are talking about a common cold or about cardiovascular disease, or cancer or osteoporosis, the root is always going to be at the cellular and molecular level, and more often than not insulin is going to have its hand in it, if not totally controlling it.
The health dangers which ingesting sugar on an habitual basis creates are certain. Simple sugars have been observed to aggravate asthma, move mood swings, provoke personality changes, muster mental illness, nourish nervous disorders, deliver diabetes, hurry heart disease, grow gallstones, hasten hypertension, and add arthritis.
Because refined dietary sugars lack minerals and vitamins, they must draw upon the body's micro-nutrient stores in order to be metabolized into the system. When these storehouses are depleted, metabolization of cholesterol and fatty acid is impeded, contributing to higher blood serum triglycerides, cholesterol, promoting obesity due to higher fatty acid storage around organs and in sub-cutaneous tissue folds.
Because sugar is devoid of minerals, vitamins, fiber, and has such a deteriorating effect on the endocrine system, major researchers and major health organizations (American Dietetic Association and American Diabetic Association) agree that sugar consumption in America is one of the 3 major causes of degenerative disease.
A good source of supplies for diabetics is diabeticdrugstore.com. They offer healthy eating diabetic food, hard to find sugar free candy and medical alert jewelry for diabetes care.
Honey is a simple sugar
There are 4 classes of simple sugars which are regarded by most nutritionists as "harmful" to optimal health when prolonged consumption in amounts above 15% of the carbohydrate calories are ingested: Sucrose, fructose, honey, and malts.
Some of you may be surprised to find honey here. Although honey is a natural sweetener, it is considered a refined sugar because 96% of dry matter are simple sugars: fructose, glucose and sucrose. It is little wonder that the honey bear is the only animal found in nature with a problem with tooth-decay (honey decays teeth faster than table sugar). Honey has the highest calorie content of all sugars with 65 calories/tablespoon, compared to the 48 calories/tablespoon found in table sugar. The increased calories are bound to cause increased blood serum fatty acids, as well as weight gain, on top of the risk of more cavities.
Pesticides used on farm crops and residential flowers have been found in commercial honey. Honey can be fatal to an infant whose immature digestive tracts are unable to deal effectively with Botulinum Spore growth. What nutrients or enzymes raw honey does contain are destroyed by manufacturers who heat it in order to give it a clear appearance to enhance sales. If you are going to consume honey, make sure it is raw, unheated honey. Good to use in special cures, but not as an every day food. It is not much better than white or brown sugar.
Here is a list of ways sugar can affect your health:
Sugar can suppress the immune system.
Sugar can upset the body's mineral balance.
Sugar can contribute to hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, concentration difficulties, and crankiness in children.
Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.
Sugar can reduce helpful high density cholesterol (HDLs).
Sugar can promote an elevation of harmful cholesterol (LDLs).
Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.
Sugar contributes to a weakened defense against bacterial infection.
Sugar can cause kidney damage.
Sugar can increase the risk of coronary heart disease.
Sugar may lead to chromium deficiency.
Sugar can cause copper deficiency.
Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
Sugar can increase fasting levels of blood glucose.
Sugar can promote tooth decay.
Sugar can produce an acidic stomach.
Sugar can raise adrenaline levels in children.
Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.
Sugar can speed the aging process, causing wrinkles and grey hair.
Sugar can increase total cholesterol.
Sugar can contribute to weight gain and obesity.
High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
Sugar can contribute to diabetes.
Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity.
Sugar leads to decreased glucose tolerance.
Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.
Sugar can increase systolic blood pressure.
Sugar causes food allergies.
Sugar can cause free radical formation in the bloodstream.
Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.
Sugar can overstress the pancreas, causing damage.
Sugar can cause atherosclerosis.
Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries.
Sugar can cause liver cells to divide, increasing the size of the liver.
Sugar can increase the amount of fat in the liver.
Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney.
Sugar can cause depression.
Sugar can increase the body's fluid retention.
Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance.
Sugar can cause hypertension.
Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.
Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha and theta brain waves, which can alter the mind's ability to think clearly.
Sugar can increase blood platelet adhesiveness which increases risk of blood clots and strokes.
Sugar can increase insulin responses in those consuming high-sugar diets compared to low sugar diets.
Sugar increases bacterial fermentation in the colon.
Source: www.nancyappleton.com

Attitude

Attitude is more important than facts.
It is more important than the past, education, money, circumstances, failure, successes, than what other people think or say or do.
It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.
It will make or break a company, a church, a home.
The remarkable thing is that we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.
We are in charge of our attitudes.
We run our own race and are in competition with ourselves, so choose to improve from day to day, week to week, month to month, and year to year and then at the end of your life you will be healthy, wealthy, and wise

Dangers of Mercury

Mercury is the second most toxic element on earth to plutonium. Toxicity of mercury has been linked to many different diseases, including autism, learning disabilities, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, depression, and bipolar disorder. The amount of mercury found in one mercury thermometer is enough to pollute a small lake.
Health effects of mercury toxicity have been a concern because of the potential for it to act as a poison. Toxic doses of mercury can cause developmental effects in the fetus, as well as affecting the kidney and the nervous system in children and adults. Mercury exists in a number of different chemical forms, each one consisting of different levels of toxicity. The forms of mercury can also be converted from one to another in the environment and in the body, so symptoms caused by mercury poisoning depends on the precise chemical forms involved.
Mercury can be toxic when inhaled, eaten, or when placed on the skin. Low concentrations of mercury may appear to have no effect but signs of toxicity can develop later or become more noticeable with continued exposure. When toxicity in humans takes place loss of feeling or a burning sensation in arms and legs, psychological effects, loss of memory, loss of vision, loss of hearing, paralysis, congenital malformations, kidney toxicity, and death may occur. Prenatal toxicity can result in a child with normal appearance at birth but who later exhibits a developmental delay in the ability to walk and/or talk. Because of the long latent period for observable effects, the need for treatment may be recognized too late.
Health effects vary according to the amount of mercury exposure is taken into the body. The health risks of mercury at low levels of exposure remain uncertain, but this continues to be a highly debatable topic with ongoing scientific investigation. Fetuses, infants and small children appear to be particularly sensitive to mercury because their brains are still developing. Vaccines with mercury have been considered to contribute to autism, learning disabilities, Alzheimer’s Disease, and other neurological conditions, and an FDA review conducted in 1998 determined that, at the time, children who received the full complement of childhood vaccines were potentially exposed to levels of mercury that were sometimes 30 to 50 times the acceptable levels established by the EPA.
High-level exposures to mercury can cause serious effects or even be lethal. Several historical examples of epidemic mercury poisonings in other parts of the world provide classic examples of investigative epidemiology and toxicology and serve to highlight the reasons why regulators are concerned about mercury. Effects on the brain and nervous system are frequently seen with high-level exposures to mercury and can be quite severe.

Health and Happiness

Happiness is in the mind, and the mind is supported by the body – a healthy mind lives in a healthy body. Your happiness depends on your mind and it depends on your body. Without physical health you can't be completely happy, and without mental happiness you can't be completely healthy. Health is a positive state; not just the absence of a negative one. It's not only the absence of disease. For too long now traditional Western medicine has treated illness as only a disease: an enemy that attacks you and needs to be counter-attacked; but in reality it's nothing more than an imbalance in the natural harmony of body and mind. True healing means restoring that balance, and true health means keeping it.
Yoga means "to unify." It's the holistic approach to all aspects of life: physical, mental and spiritual. Yoga views the person as a whole; as a unique combination of body, mind and soul, and its techniques maintain that body-mind-soul harmony. Try it today.

Meditate For An Open Heart

Meditation might be your prescription for a happier mind and kinder heart, a new University of Wisconsin-Madison study shows. Scientists worked with 16 Tibetan monks and 16 meditation novices, giving the beginners lessons on compassion meditation two weeks prior to a series of brain-scan experiments. Those brain scans-taken while the participants responded to different emotional cues-revealed that the monks had more activity in certain brain regions involved in processing empathy. The findings, according to study authors, suggest that meditation may train the brain to increase feelings of compassion and happiness.

Booze and Your Body - Part 4 of 4

Heart Health. Moderate alcohol consumption is good for your heart. A meta-analysis that looked at 42 studies consistently showed that one drink a day was beneficial, reducing risk of heart disease by almost 25 percent. A recent study from Medical University of South Carolina looked at middle-aged people who began to drink moderate amounts (one drink per day or less for women, two drinks per day or less for men) and found a quick benefit: lower rates of cardiovascular disease. These new drinkers had a 38 percent lower chance of developing heart disease than their nondrinking counterparts. I still say no Drinking!

Booze and Your Body - Part 3

Mental Health. Alcohol seems like a great stress reducer, but it typically serves as an escape, one that brings a cascade of unhealthy effects. While it may make you feel better in the moment, keep in mind that it's a depressant; overall, it can make mood and depression worse. Relationships can pay a price, whether that minifests as snapping at the kids or withdrawing from your spouse. The sleep problems caused by alcohol can also affect mental health.