Sugar!!! It's a problem.
The amount of sugar that is in your blood has a profound impact on how you feel and your overall general health. We most often think of unregulated blood sugars resulting in diabetes, however elevated blood sugars have influence on all your systems. Considering that one-third of the US population is either diabetic or prediabetic should alert us to our sugar consumption. It should then be no surprise that the US consumes more sugar per capita than any other country in the world, with 126 grams of sugar per day! That’s about 3 cans of soda (39 g) per person per day!
How is it that we consume so much sugar in the United States, especially when we are aware that it isn’t really good for us? This simple question has a multifaceted answer that may surprise you. For more daily information about similar topics, follow me on Instagram @drbuttler. Also, sign up for my free Simple 3-Step Plan for more ideas on how to regulate your blood sugar and reclaim your health.
Why do we, as a nation, consume so much sugar? To start, sugar is marketed to us ad nauseum as it is an industry worth more than 12 billion dollars in the US and over 38 billion globally. Sugar generates a lot of money, and it is worth it for the people who profit to make sure that it is put in as many products as possible. It also helps their bottom line by marketing these products as much as possible to the US population. Added to many food products, sugar is found in some surprising places. We are aware (or should be) that it is in items such as soda, chips, and ice cream; but did you know it’s in so-called health foods? Foods such as yogurt, granola, and instant oatmeal can contain up to 33 grams of sugar per serving! That’s almost as much as a can of soda!
1 can of soda contains 39 g sugar
Sugar is hidden in foods under different names. In fact there are over 60 different names for sugar! A tip for identifying sugar is to look at the name. If it says sugar (raw, cane, brown, etc.) then it contains sugar. Easy. If it contains syrup (corn, rice, maple, etc.) then it contains sugar. Little more difficult. If it contains a word that ends with “ose” (fructose, dextrose, maltose, etc) or then it contains sugar. More difficult still. These companies will manipulate names of ingredients to hide the fact that they are pumping them full of unhealthy sugar additives. They make reading nutrition labels as confusing and obtuse as possible so people stop reading and rely on their advertising language. Words such as “organic,” “healthy,” or even “smart,” are thrown around on the packaging but cannot be used on the nutrition labels. Read the labels to understand exactly what you are putting in your body. Don’t be duped!
Another reason that we eat so much sugar is due to the fact that Americans are addicted to it! In the 1950’s and 60’s, the sugar industry paid scientists to say that fat contributed to heart disease, not sugar. Read more here in my previous blog. We have had sugar pushed on us for half a century. This pressure coupled with the fact that we now understand sugar to have addictive characteristics1 led to generations of people indiscriminately eating sugar and perpetuating a hidden addiction. Our current diabetes epidemic is rooted in this pattern of deceit. Millions of Americans have suffered needlessly so that the sugar industry could continue to profit.
Why is sugar so damaging to our bodies? Don’t we need it to live? Isn’t it a naturally occurring substance? These questions really are at the heart of this topic and need to be discussed before we move forward with an understanding of metabolic syndrome, dysglycemia, pre-diabetes, and diabetes. Yes, sugar is found naturally in plants around the world. Yes, our body thrives on some level of carbohydrate intake. Excess sugar intake, however, affects every system in our body leading to a variety of chronic diseases.
To understand sugar, we need to understand carbohydrates, or carbs, as well. Carbohydrates are the same as sugar, at least as far as your body is concerned. They are broken down into glucose in the body, and used as a fuel source of our cells. In your mind, sugar, carbohydrates, and glucose should all basically be thought of as sugar. Now, when the glucose enters your bloodstream, it sends a signal to your pancreas to produce a hormone called insulin. This hormone has the distinct job of finding sugar in your blood and sticking it into your muscles, among other things. So far so good?
There are 2 processes that lead to disturbances in our metabolism (our ability to use substances, especially sugar, as fuel). The first process involves damage to the cells in the pancreas that make and secrete the insulin hormone. When these cells are destroyed, the body can no longer make insulin. This is when people need to use injections of insulin to be able to manage their glucose levels. This is what occurs with people who have what’s called Type 1 Diabetes. Their cells have been destroyed and they can no longer make insulin.
The more prevalent type of diabetes, and the type that is causing an epidemic in the US is Type 2 Diabetes, and the conditions that are associated with it (metabolic syndrome, dysglycemia, pre-diabetes). This happens when there is an excess of sugar which makes the pancreatic cells unable to make enough insulin over time. Unhealthy diets filled with sugar and carbohydrates (remember they are basically the same) put too much burden on the cells and they don’t work well. This ultimately means less insulin to take away the sugars and higher levels of sugar in your body.
That’s how we get high blood sugar levels. But, why is that a problem? The problem is that sugar is sticky. Have you ever tried to clean up a soft drink or your fingers after eating a sugary meal? You need to use soap to get the stickiness off your hands. That’s the sugar! In your blood, the sticky sugar causes lots of problems. It sticks to your red blood cells (RBCs) which is one of the tests they look at to diagnose diabetes. This is called your hemoglobin A1c (or HbA1c) and it measures the percentage of RBC that is coated with sugar. When too much sugar sticks to your RBCs, they start to become sticky themselves and it makes it much more difficult to navigate your blood vessels.
Example of single RBC moving through microvasculature/ dynamicscience.com
There are areas in your body that the vessels are so tiny, that only RBC can pass at one time. This is called the “microvasculature” and is present throughout your body. When the sticky RBCs try to go through the microvasculature, they get stuck. This makes them stick to the sides, each other, and anything else that might be there. When they get stuck, pressure builds up behind them, just like when you kink a hose when washing your car. The pressure causes damage to the blood vessel walls and over time contributes to high blood pressure. This is why we call high blood pressure (or hypertension- HTN) a symptom of diabetes and heart disease.
Especially dangerous for people with diabetes, are the areas of microvasculature in the eyes, feet, genitals, and kidneys. When these areas become occluded, or blocked, by sticky RBCs, they can drastically lose function rapidly. This is what contributes to major complications for people who have high blood sugar such as blindness, foot/toe/leg amputation, erectile dysfunction, and kidney failure. The microvasculature around the heart is particularly susceptible as it contributes to heart disease in people with excess sugar in their blood. This is yet another example of how blood sugars contribute to a wide variety of chronic diseases, and how significantly they can attack the body.
The biggest problem with all of this is that people don’t know and are not aware of what is happening in their body. Their blood sugars are wildly out of control from sugars, mostly hidden in their foods, placing them in a category of anywhere from metabolic syndrome to actual diabetes, allowing their microvasculature to be destroyed without their even knowing it. This is the epidemic! While most people may not know they have a blood sugar problem, they see it manifest in other ways. They have high blood pressure and/or elevated cholesterol. They have symptoms such as fatigue, sexual dysfunction, and chronic pain and inflammation. Most people aren’t dying from diabetes. They are dying from diabetes in the form of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and autoimmune disease without knowing why and with no idea on how to change it.
Excess sugar is the headwaters of chronic disease
Diabetes is a headwaters disease. It is the disease that influences and contributes to the progression of other diseases. We have the ability to address it, but only if we are aware of it. With care and the proper plan, unnecessary suffering can be averted. You have a right to know what is happening in your body and what you put in it. You have a right to know how to address your health issues and put yourself on the path to health recovery. There are a variety of components that a good plan addresses. Proper diet, movement, and targeted supplementation can be invaluable to your recovery.
Without a plan that addresses the food that you are putting in your body, you are really trying to cross a lake in a rowboat with no oars. You won’t get anywhere. Find a doctor who will give you accurate information about how to find sugar and which foods you should focus your concentration on in regards to how to recover your health. They should also provide you with quality, goal-oriented movement plans that both fit your style and provide predictable results. Your food choices will always trump your movement plan so it’s crucial to get them both in alignment. I have formulated my own brand of supplements that are focused on metabolic recovery. My Omega 3 Recovery is formulated to improve inflammation to help support healthy glucose and insulin metabolism. My Methyl-Detox Recovery B’s improve homocysteine levels and help the liver detoxify more effectively. Click the links to find out more about my Omega 3 Recovery and Methyl-Detox Recovery B’s supplements.
Your health is your most valuable asset. Without it, everything else in your life greatly suffers. Taking responsibility and control over your health care is essential to managing your most valuable asset. Focus on the amount of sugar you intake on a daily basis and watch your symptoms diminish as you cut that intake off. Your body, mind, emotions, and soul will thank you!
Dr.Buttler
References
1) Avena NM, Rada P, Hoebel BG. Evidence for sugar addiction: Behavioral and neurochemical effects of intermittent, excessive sugar intake. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 2008;32(1):20-39. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2007.04.019
