With so much talk about sugar and diabetes there is now even more of a reason to cut down on the sweet stuff. Sugar increases inflammation in the body which causes your body to hold onto excess fluid. When a person is already overweight, the additional adipose tissue causes the body to retain even more fluid. A rise in blood sugar actually causes changes in the cells. Staying away from foods high in sugar is one of the best ways to decrease inflammation. The clinical indication of inflammation is a high level of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the body. This can cause many health-related problems. A prior published study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that people with high levels of CRP were more likely to have a heart attack. This high level of CRP is also more likely found in people with diabetes and those who are pre-diabetic and overweight.
There is no question that Americans have a love affair with sugar. The average American actually consumes approximately 22 teaspoons of sugar a day. This calculates to almost more than 130 pounds of sugar a year. The main culprit contributing to these levels is soft drinks.
Inflammation can also be blamed for chronic diseases. Another prior study at the Harvard Medical School found that women who consumed large amounts of high-sugar or refined carbohydrates had higher levels of CRP. Those types of foods include potatoes, sugary cereals, white bread, muffins and rice. The women who opted for these foods and were also overweight had the most critically high levels of CRP.
Sugar is a thief, luring you in and then stealing your ability to fight chronic illnesses. It affects the body’s immune system. Let’s boil down the effect of sugar in the body. Once consuming a high sugary food or drink your blood sugar rises. The pancreas is then prompted to release insulin allowing glucose to flood your cells. It is then that your blood sugar levels drop and can result in fatigue. Your adrenal glands then get set into motion, which causes inflammation. Your liver responds to the adrenaline and starts the exhausting process again. This makes us not only tired, but reaching for our next sugar fix.
My best advice is to cut down on high sugar foods such as cakes, pies, breads, etc. Reach for healthy snacks such as fruits and vegetables and lean proteins.
Joanne Sgro is a Television Fitness Expert, Certified Personal Trainer and Sport Nutritionist. She is Certified in Pilates, Pre-natal/Post-Partum, Yoga and Senior Fitness. She specializes in Weight Loss, Post-Rehab and Post Cancer Training. Joanne's fitness plans and recipes are available globally on her website www.fitnessanswer.com. She resides in the Phoenix, AZ area with her fiancé, where she runs her personal training business, Fitness Answer, LLC.