I loved Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory growing up- the golden tickets, the Oompa Loompas, the chocolate river… it was every kids dream!
The problem with all that sugar is we’re realizing just how much of a problem it really is. In the US there is an epidemic of sugar. It seems like it’s added to EVERYTHING. Pasta sauce, deli meat, yogurt, cereal bars, soup, etc. Unless you check the ingredients for sugar, or one of its clever names: sucrose, fructose, dextrose, or any of the rest of the “-ose” family, it could be hiding in many of your daily food sources. On average, Americans consume about 17 teaspoons of added sugar (not sugar that naturally occurs in foods) per day. This translates to 57 POUNDS of sugar per year!
So what’s the problem? Well, unfortunately, a lot. There are many studies proving sugar causes chronic low-grade inflammation. This inflammation has been linked to quicker aging and the onset of many chronic diseases: i.e. type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cognitive decline and even some cancers.
The reason is, dietary sugar upregulates the production of free fatty acids. This triggers the onset inflammatory processes in the body and the formation of reactive oxygen species – both cause damage to the body.
As I mentioned in my first video, this increase in inflammatory load can lead to a significant increase in pain. Decreasing the intake of refined sugars has shown a significant decrease in the pain people experience from both musculoskeletal and autoimmune sources.
Take a step back and think about where added sugar may be hiding in your diet.
Resources:
doi:10.2174/1874312901812010019
doi:10.1093/rheumatology/key011
doi:10.3390/nu10050606
doi:10.3390/nu8110697
(2016, March). 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Cut Down on Added Sugars. Retrieved from https://health.gov/…/resou…/DGA_Cut-Down-On-Added-Sugars.pdf <https://health.gov/…/DGA_Cut-Down-On-Added-Sugars.pdf%22%20…>