Good Morning, Evening, and Afternoon.
How is everyone feeling? Today is a blessing. Another opportunity to make a difference in our lives or for others. Today my goal is to be present in the moment of where I am.
Deep breaths of fresh air with a tint of sweetness from the flowering trees… Listening to the chatter of the birds in the background. Worshiping their creator, telling each other where to find the seed we have down for our chickens. Trying to count every blessing we have… Sometimes we have to search it out (gifts, gratefulness). @ Times it’s easy to see. Sometimes we become so distracted we forget, but it’s essential to take a moment every day, count, and breath… Be present. Stop running Physically … or mentally… BREATH…
Today I wanted to talk about sugar… In our lifetime, it’s amazing to see what people can make out of sugar. Such beautiful cookies, cakes, baklava, cream pies smile the list can go on and on and on. Also, you wouldn’t even think there would be sugar in many foods. Like, baby formula, tomato sauce, and bread. It seems we can find sugar everywhere. I don’t know if you were like me, but when I was a kid … I thought nothing about sugar.. Just that I wanted to eat it. I didn’t even think any type of fourth thought that it may harm me. I trusted that if it were harmful, someone would say something. I think as adults too. We have that mentality. If it is harmful, it wouldn’t be available. Unfortunately, that is not the case, and sugar is very harmful to our bodies and minds. So let’s dive in.
History of Sugar:
chemically refined sugar appeared on the scene in India about 2,500 years ago.
So here we are today, 2022. The amount of sugar we eat or drink just keeps rising, and so dose our health problems.
The effects of sugar on the Body:
- Higher Blood pressure
- Inflammation
- May Accelerate the aging process
- It has been linked to acne
- Weight Gain
- Diabetes
- Linked to cancer
- Fatty liver disease
- Depletes B Vitamins
- Increased heart attack
- Increased Kidney risk
- Gout
- Cognitive decline
- and even Stroke
- Ruins your teeth. There was a Swedish study done (Vipeholm experiments) in 1945–1955. They took disabled children and adults and fed them sugar. The sugar company funded it. They really thought that they would show sugar has no found issue on teeth. You can read more here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vipeholm_experimen
Of course, they found widespread cavities; the teeth were just eaten away. *seen some pics* To this day, the way Sweden traditionally eats sweets is only one day a week.
Effects on the Mind:
Addiction: …Sugar has the same neurochemical changes as one who is doing drugs. Dopamine hits
Continue to research https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0149763407000589
link
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/
After a month on this intermittent-feeding schedule, the animals show a series of behaviors similar to the effects of drugs of abuse. These are categorized as “bingeing”, meaning unusually large bouts of intake, opiate-like “withdrawal” indicated by signs of anxiety and behavioral depression and “craving” measured during sugar abstinence as enhanced responding for sugar
- Link:
- https://brainworksneurotherapy.com/what-neuroplasticity
- Link:
- https://www.sciencealert.com/research-shows-sugar-can-change-your-brain-here-s-how
How about our mood& Emotionally
- Lack of focus
- Sugar crashing. Your body really gets a lot of energy from the sugar. It gets really high, and then when it comes down. It’s not gradual. You literally crash.
- Depression
- Anxiety
- The impulse to eat and emotional eating is from the sugar, which reduces the hormone that makes you feel stressed.
Added research
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31125634/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763418308613
Hormones and Sugar
- Eating too much sugar can turn off the Gene (AR) that affects your testosterone (A very important hormone for sexual health. )
- And estrogen that gene is (ER) α, FOXA1, and FOXP1). Which regulates menstruation, reproductive, heart, blood vessels, urinary, breast, skin, mucus membranes, pelvis muscle and brains
polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which is the most common cause of infertility among women [10–12]. As many as 38% to 88% of PCOS patients have been reported to be obese [13]. PCOS and obesity often share manycomorbidities, such as hyperinsulinemia, leptin and insulin resistance, and other metabolic disruptions [14–17]. Moreover, obesity further exacerbates these symptoms in women with PCOS
- Mess with the hormone Leptin (which tells you are full. which affects your insulin )
- Lowers cortisol hormone is an essential hormone that affects almost every organ and tissue in your body. It plays many vital roles, including Regulating your body’s stress response. Helping control your body’s use of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, or your metabolism.
So we can see that sugar and sugar-like products (corn syrup, High glucose syrup, corn syrup, fructose) are very hard on your body. Also, hard on you Physically, mentally, and Hormones.. We have to leave it off… Once a year, maybe… Maybe…. but there are so many alternatives now that you don’t NEED to use sugar.
So some examples of alternatives.
Honey:
- Of course, there is honey> Honey is not only sweet. It also is:
- Good source of antioxidants
- Antibiotic
- Antimicrobial
- Antifungal
- Anti Imfamitory
- Anticancer
- Antimetastatic (inhibiting metastasis, antimetastatic activity Cancer treatment may require combining multiple antimetastatic drugs with cytotoxic chemotherapy.)
- antiproliferative (relating to a substance used to prevent or retard the spread of cells, especially malignant cells, into surrounding tissues. )
Digests are better than sugar, so it’s better for regulating blood sugar levels.
May improve Heart Health.
Stevia (only from the leaves)
- Regulates blood pressure
- Controls weight gain
- Does not elevate sugar in the blood
- Controls tumor growth
- It won’t affect your teeth like sugar, and it has bactericidal that protects your teeth from decay.
- Can prevent renal cyst
- Anti-inflammatory
- (steep the leaves and add the water to your recipes)
Maple Syurup:
- Provies at least 24 antioxidents
- Zinc
- Magnizeium
- calisum
- potassium
- Ribufluin
- Fights Imfamatory desiease
- Skin health
- May help against cancer
- Low Glysimic index food.|
Dates and date surup :
- Naturally full of iron
- Potassium
- Coper
- magnesium
- Manganese
- B6
- High in fiber
- High in Antioxidants (higher than elderberries)
- Lowers inflammatory, especially in the brain
- Bone health
- Low on the glycemic index
- Molassess
- Great source of Iron
- Selenium
- B6
- Copper
- Calcium
- Potassium
- Antioxidant *more then Honey*
- Low Glycemic (though if you have dibeaties try little by little and see how your body digests it. )
Raw Sugar cane * juice raw form*
- Fights and prevents several types of cancer
- Low Glycemic
- Can health with maintaining Electrolytes balance
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Potassium
- Iron
- Manganese
- Vitamin C
- May strengthen Liver
- Folic Acid
- Good for skin
- Aids Digestion
So why would we use something that can harm us? When we can get the same effect (of sweetness) with things that benefit our health? I know sometimes you have to get used to the flavor of some of these sweeteners, but believe me, in the time, it will not have any aftertaste. You will get used to it. Your health will thank you. We also need to think about the way of balance. We can not just eat sweet things all day, week, month, or year. Some people do, but we need to have a nutrient-dense balance of food intake. Too much of anything is not always a good thing. For example, if you eat meat only. Yes, you will get nutrients, but you will miss many nutrients, too, like vitamin c. So balance and high nutrition are crucial to gaining and maintaining good health.
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