Sugar has become so much a part of our diets that we are unaware of all the places that it lurks. Because sugar has so many different names, we don’t really realize how much we consume. Generally, when we think of sugar, we think of the overt sugars – candy, cake, cookies, ice cream, sodas, etc. The other sugars – those in coffee, in snack foods, even in yogurt are mostly ignored.
Yogurt always amuses me. Somehow we’ve been marketed into believing that yogurt is this great food (It is when it is home-made and not loaded with sugar). On a website called “sugarstacks.com”, where they compare the sugar content of different foods, yogurt has more sugar in it than a 6 pack of donuts! Most of the yogurts no longer have active probiotics in them (the reason yogurt is supposed to be so good for you). I don’t want to pick on yogurt, necessarily, because other foods, ones not generally suspect, also contain sugar.
So what are the names of some of these sugars? Barley Malt, Beet Sugar, Cane-Juice Crystals, Cane Sugar, Caramel, Corn Syrup, Maltol, Fruit Juice, Fruit Juice Concentrate, Malt, Galactose, Dextrose, Glucose, High-Fructose Corn Syrup, Honey, Corn Syrup Solids, Date Sugar, Maltodextrin, Maltose, Maple Syrup, Mannitol, Molasses, Raw Sugar, Sorghum, Sorbitol, Sucrose, Succanat, Turbinado ,Treacle, Agave – and 21 more!
Don’t decide to go to artificial sweeteners as the problems are worse. Artificial Sweeteners are also called by various names: Aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal), Sucralose (Splenda), Saccharin (Sweet-n-Low, Sweet Twin, Necta Sweet). Acesulfame-K (Acesulfame Potassium, Ace-K, Sunette, Sweet One), Neotame.
Sugar by any name creates havoc in the body. It can disrupt the function of the endocrine system – the system of organs and glands that secrete hormones. Hormones are the messenger system of the body and to mess with the messenger is bad news! Some of the organs of the endocrine system include the pancreas, which controls blood sugar as well as sends pancreatic enzymes into the small intestines to complete digestion. Also the adrenal glands, which play a role in blood sugar balance, releases hormones which control inflammation, your reaction to stress, blood pressure and is responsible for sustained energy throughout the day. All of the endocrine gland organs are interdependent. When one is affected, there is a ricochet response from other gland organs. Sugar can negatively disrupt endocrine balance which can affect every system in the body either directly or indirectly. Sugar intake suppresses immune function, disrupts mineral balance, can raise glucose, triglyceride and cholesterol levels in the blood, causes the body to be more acidic (resulting in more dental caries, digestive disturbances, degenerative disorders), encourages overgrowth of candida – and many other problems!
© 2009 Holly A. Carling, O.M.D., L.Ac., Ph.D.
