Sacrificing to the Sugar Devil

Although unsubstantiated by current medical knowledge, I have always suspected that we actually have two stomachs: one for dinner, and one for dessert. This separate organ guarantees that, no matter how much one eats of “real food”, there is always room at the end for ice cream, cake, cookies, and such. For many of us, a meal isn’t complete until we’ve had something sweet to round it out.

We are a nation of sugar addicts. If you have ever cut sugar out of your diet, you’ve immediately noticed two things: it’s virtually impossible to find processed foods (even organic or “natural”) that are made without some form of sweetener; and, it’s really hard to stay off the stuff. A friend of mine, no stranger to quitting addictions, said she “white-knuckled” her first week off sugar.

The list of problems caused by refined sugar is frightening, and sobering. Its effects are encompassing and pervasive enough to show the need to rid it from our diet.

A short list includes diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, tooth decay, obesity, gallstones, mood swings, depression, hyperactivity, stomach acidity, migraines, acne, weight gain, menopausal symptoms, menstrual problems, allergies, low blood pressure, inability to handle alcohol, mental chatter during the day, insomnia.

Sugar in the bloodstream attracts mosquitos, microbes, and parasites. The Black Plague, beriberi, pellagra, scurvy, tuberculosis – all flourished among groups of people with a sugar-rich diet. (See William Dufty’s fascinating Sugar Blues for the history of sugar in commerce, slave trade, disease, and the medical establishment.)

Not only does refining cane or beet sugar strip it of its nutrients (a 1973 U.S. Senate committee called white sugar an “antinutrient”), but to add insult to injury, refined sugar leaches important nutrients, vitamins, and minerals from the body, and paves the way for disease. Calcium, vitamin B, protein, chromium, and manganese deficiencies have been associated with depression, fatigue, and low blood sugar. Vitamin C deficiency leads to scurvy. Magnesium deficiency produces hair loss, muscle cramps, irritability, tremors, disorientation, and confusion. Low potassium decreases neuromuscular functioning, giving us a weak body, loss of muscle tone, and poor reflexes. The adrenals, pancreas, liver, and brain are all monumentally adversely affected.

Sugar devastates the immune system. A 1976 study on sugar and disease resistance showed that the average person loses more than 90% of their immune function within 15 minutes of ingesting sugar, and this deficiency lasts for about two hours.

Refined sugar is an “empty” food, referring to its effects on the body, the quality of feeling empty. Herbalist and acupuncturist Leslie Tierra calls sugar an “extreme” food, along with salt, alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco, because eating one usually sets up a craving for another, creating an endless cycle. Meat eaters often crave sugar because its emptiness offsets the fullness of meat. Sugar causes salt cravings; salty foods cause sugar cravings.

What’s the pull of sugar? When life doesn’t feel sweet on its own, we try to add it from outside ourselves. We use sweets to counter feeling sad or lonely, or as a reward after a hard day. But while we may not want to imagine life without sugary indulgences, we need to acknowledge that rather than soothing our soul, in reality we are choosing our own destruction. As Leslie Tierra writes, “What seems expedient to ignore in the present may cause more grief, pain and expense in the long run.”

The sacrifice we make, laying sweet treats on the altar to the Sugar Devil, is our good health – and, as my grandmother used to say, “if you’ve got your health, you’ve got everything.”

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© 2008 Jenny Chapin
Valley Acupuncture & Healing Arts - Greenfield, MA - 413-522-3816