Why you should eliminate sugar from your diet

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Sugar leads to excess weight and premature aging, it makes our body addicted and puts it at risk of cardiovascular disease. In this article, Dr. Robert Lustig proves these postulates.

Salt is white death and sugar is sweet. This is the opinion of Robert Lustig, endocrinologist, MD, author of several books on the problem of obesity and popular lectures ("Sugar: the bitter truth", "Fat chance: fructose 2.0").

In his opinion, manufacturers add sugar to all foods, even "healthy" ones, which can lead to disaster.

Sugar leads to obesity

13% of the calories the average American consumes each day is sugar. 22 teaspoons a day (if you add up all the sucrose consumed during the day through food). At a rate of 6 for women and 9 for men.

But blaming the food industry for your extra pounds is stupid. According to Lustig, the person himself chooses how to dress the salad - sweet sauce or olive oil.

Sugar fools our brains

Sucrose is composed of two monosaccharides - glucose and fructose. The latter increases the body's resistance to the hunger hormone (leptin). Usually, a person loses control over their appetite when eating too much high-calorie foods. But research has shown that fructose also tricks our brains.

Leptin regulates the body's energy metabolism and tells the brain, "I'm full." Fructose prevents leptin from entering the brain and makes you feel full.

Sugar is a catalyst for aging

According to Dr. Lustig, sugar makes a tangible contribution to the aging process, since fructose, which makes up 50% of the sucrose molecule, releases oxygen radicals, which, in turn, accelerate the rate of development and death of cells, and also contribute to the development of chronic diseases (diabetes mellitus 2 type, cardiovascular and other diseases).

At the same time, Lustig warns that sugar, and with it old age, "hides", at times, in unexpected products. For example, ketchup and tomato paste.

Sugar - our body "rusts"

When sugar interacts with proteins, the so-called Maillard reaction occurs in the body. Under normal conditions, the rate of this reaction is so low that its products have time to leave.

However, the higher the blood sugar level, the faster the reaction rate. Accumulating, the reaction products lead to numerous disturbances in the functioning of the body. In particular, the accumulation of some late products of the Maillard reaction provokes age-related changes in tissues. Literally - they "rust".

According to Lustig, the habit of pampering yourself with something sweet supports and accelerates this process.

Sugar leads to the accumulation of fat in the liver

Liver steatosis is a metabolic disorder in which fat accumulates in the liver cells. One of the main causes of steatosis is an unbalanced diet. If you consume too much sugar, your liver cannot handle it. The pancreas tries to come to the rescue and starts making extra insulin. This is the so-called non-alcoholic steatosis (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease).

A study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who consume 1,000 extra calories a day from sweets are overweight only 2% of cases, but 27% of cases have fat accumulation in the liver.

Sugar is a "drug"

Dopamine is the “hormone of desires”. He is an important part of the brain's "reward system". Dopamine induces feelings of pleasure when we have sex or eat delicious food. Psychologically speaking, dopamine is our motivator. If a person has a disturbed production of this hormone, he does not want anything, he does not get satisfaction from anything.

Sugar contributes to the production of dopamine. At the same time, the body gradually sits down on a sweet "needle" and requires more and more doses, otherwise pleasure does not come.

Sugar is an arterial killer

The endothelium is the cells that line the inner surface of blood and lymph vessels, as well as cardiac cavities. The endothelium performs a number of important functions: blood clotting control, blood pressure regulation, and others. The endothelium is susceptible to chemical damage, which in turn can be caused by sugar.

Rather, the glucose it contains. It "sticks" to the walls of blood vessels, oxidizing and destroying the endothelium.

According to Lustig, sugar is found even in semi-finished meat bought in the store. To stay healthy and to guard against excessive sugar consumption, he recommends:

• do not buy semi-finished products;
• read labels carefully;
• there are natural (Organic) products;
• buy yoghurts with a sugar content of no more than 10 grams (for example, Greek);
• replace lemonade with natural juices.

You will find more advice from Dr. Lustig in his lectures.