CNN: "Sugar makes you sick"

There is a video on CNN this week talking about the dangers of sugar and what the sugar industry doesn’t want you to know. It’s comparable to a 3 minute horror flick. You can watch it here: http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/10/health/sugar-may-make-you-sick/ Laura Schmidt, a professor of health policy in the School of Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco, in an accompanying editorial wrote, “too much sugar doesn’t just make us fat; it can also make us sick.” And here is another scary take-away from CNN’s piece; “The U.S. government hasn’t issued a dietary limit for added sugars like it has for calories, fats, sodium, etc. Furthermore, sugar is classified by the Food and Drug administration as “generally safe,” which allows manufacturers to add unlimited amounts to any food.” When I talk about sugar and sugar addiction, I want people to understand how serious the problem is. We have national news networks covering how we , as a society, are becoming sick as a result of sugar. There are plenty of articles in the news right now countering the belief that sugar is dangerous. I can’t understand why people would think massive amounts of sugar is fine and wouldn’t harm one’s health. The science proves otherwise, but when you think about the billions, yes with a B, of dollars spent to promote sugar by the food industry- well , that is when things start to get political. As an addictive personality, sugar becomes even more dangerous for me and for other addicts in daily recovery. Consider the science and the numbers: 32 percent of Americans are obese and an additional one-third is overweight. In 1975, the obesity rate in America had reached 15 percent. Carrying excess weight increases your risk for deadly conditions such as heart disease, kidney disease, and diabetes. Fructose (sugar) elevates uric acid, which decreases nitric oxide, raises angiotensin, and causes your smooth muscle cells to contract, thereby raising your blood pressure and potentially damaging your kidneys. So, every time you eat sugar, you could be causing damage to your kidneys. Further, increased uric acid also leads to chronic, low-level inflammation, which has far-more consequences for your health. Think about this, chronically inflamed blood vessels lead to heart attacks and strokes and there is a lot of evidence that some cancers are caused by chronic inflammation. Cancer, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, obesity, kidney failure and kidney disease….all related to sugar! As you head into the weekend, and the rest of October – a month that celebrates eating candy- think about sugar. You don’t have to simply take my word for it, research the science, watch the news, understand your body…. sugar is abundant, addicting and it acts as a conduit for poor health.]]>