I have long wanted to do this. But just never seemed to get to it. This year after some reading up on the subject I decided that it was time.
So on Friday July 13, 2018 I stopped eating or drinking anything with sugar in it.
I was starting to lose myself, the excessive sugar I was consuming, was making my brain foggy, and I was way more sleepy than I should have been. Just had no desire to do much of anything, and had lapsed into watching daytime TV.
The first 2 weeks, I really did not feel all that different, but little by little the fog started to lift, I had more energy, more things got done.
I really can not say I miss the sugar now. The cravings for it left about 2 weeks ago, I can now walk right past all the gooey deserts, the chocolate, the soda., etc.
I do not use artificial sweeteners, so I am not doing the sugar free stuff either.
Long ago I had stopped eating fat, and I do not eat processed foods either. I eat mostly fresh fruits and veggies, and if I feel like something sweet I ear some dates. I do eat meat, and nuts, eggs and milk.
I have also gotten rid of a yeast infection that I have been battling for over a year.
While reading I found this list of ways that sugar can cause serious health risks, and decided I did not want to take those risks anymore.
Too much sugar can lead to detrimental effects to your health. I counted at
least 76 ways (yes, you read that right!) in which sugar can cause serious
health risks for you. These hazards are divided into four categories:
Increased Risk of Diseases and Sicknesses, Nutrient Imbalance or
Deficiency, Bodily Impairments, and Behavioral
Changes.
Nutrient Imbalance or Deficiency
- Upsets the mineral relationships in your body
- Chromium deficiency
- Interferes with the absorption of calcium, magnesium, and protein
- Increases total cholesterol, triglycerides, and bad cholesterol levels
- Decreases good cholesterol levels
- Lowers vitamin E levels
- Body changes sugar into two to five times more fat in the bloodstream compared to starch
Behavioral Changes
- Addictive and intoxicating, similar to alcohol
- Rapid rise of adrenaline, hyperactivity, and anxiety
- Leads to difficulty in concentration, drowsiness, and crankiness in children
- Results in decreased activity in children
- Reduces learning capacity and can cause learning disorders that could affect schoolchildren's grades
- Increases risk of antisocial behavior
- Decrease in emotional stability
- Depression
- Alcoholism
Increased Risk of Diseases and Sicknesses
- Feeds cancer cells
- Can induce cell death
- Increases fasting levels of glucose
- Increases systolic blood pressure
- Significant increase in platelet adhesion
- Leads to formation of kidney stones and gallstones
- Rapid sugar absorption promotes excessive food intake
- Obesity
- Decreases insulin sensitivity, leading to high insulin levels and eventually diabetes
- Reactive hypoglycemia
- Headaches, including migraines
- Dizziness
- Gastrointestinal tract problems
- Food allergies
- Promotes chronic degenerative diseases
- Causes atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases
- Causes cataracts and nearsightedness
- May lead to autoimmune diseases like arthritis, asthma, and multiple sclerosis
- Causes emphysema
- Contributes to osteoporosis
- Contraction of appendicitis, hemorrhoids, and varicose veins
- Parkinson's disease (people with said disease have high sugar intake)
- Increases risk of gout and Alzheimer's disease
- Acidity in saliva, tooth decay, and periodontal diseases
- Gum disease
- Greatly promotes uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections)
- Toxemia in pregnancy
- Contributes to eczema in children
- Worsens symptoms of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Increases risk of polio
- May lead to epileptic seizures
- Could lead to high blood pressure in obese people
- Increased consumption in intensive care units can induce death
Bodily Impairments
- Has potential to induce abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual
- Suppression of immune system, increasing risk of contracting infectious diseases
- Loss of tissue elasticity and function
- Weaker eyesight
- Premature aging
- Increases advanced glycation end products wherein sugar molecules attach to proteins and end up damaging them
- DNA structure impairment
- Can cut off oxygen to brain via intravenous feedings
- Change in protein structure and causes a permanent alteration of protein acts in your body
- Changing of collagen structure
- Skin aging
- Impairs physiological homeostasis of bodily systems
- Lowers ability of enzymes to function
- Increases liver size by making liver cells divide, increasing the amount of liver fat
- Increase kidney size and producing pathological changes
- Pancreatic damage
- Increase in body's fluid retention
- Affects urinary electrolyte composition
- Slows down ability of adrenal glands to function
- Compromises lining of capillaries
- Brittle tendons
- Can cause an increase in delta, alpha, and theta brain waves, which can alter the mind's ability to think clearly
- Causes hormonal imbalances
- Increases free radicals and oxidative stress
- Leads to substantial decrease in gestation, with a twofold increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age infant
- Dehydration among newborns
- Affects carbon dioxide production when given to premature babies
