Some time in May, I had written this post on my blog, about how water intensive, sugar cultivation is. As my contribution to our country and this planet, I decided to go off sugar and all food items containing sugar.
I did not however expect one side effect of this decision. A surprising weight loss .
I weighed about 94 kilograms when I wrote that post (with a overweight BMI of 29.4) today as I weigh myself the scale shows 73 kgs (BMI at 23.0). All I did was go off sugar (which includes jaggery and juices).
Prior to this, for the last 5 years I had made various attempts at losing weight, cutting down on oil, fats, starches, exercise etc etc.. perhaps other than taking medication, there was no stone left un-turned. I yo-yo'd between 80 kgs to 94 kgs during these years. During these years I also realised that diet, starving, fasting and all other fad methods are just temporary and perhaps work for only a few. Until a few months ago, I always believed that I consumed very little sugar- a couple of teaspoon in my tea and "occasional" dessert after a meal. Never did I realise how much of an impact those few teaspoons made.
Was sugar the culprit all these days- I think so.
In fact other than causing large scale environmental turmoil, sugar can wreck havoc in our bodies. Sugar is addictive and it is so addictive that it is called the new age cocaine 1. It is hard to get off it- but it is possible and one should.
First of all, the sugar industry is a big lobby with a massive political clout. It is so powerful that in 1960's it paid researchers at Harvard to show that fat and not sugar caused heart disease.
These reports then shaped nutrition requirements for years and most of them continue to be used. So whatever value that is considered as 'safe sugar intake' all require a re look.
As newer research is pouring out, sugar in our diet is shown to cause heart disease; cancer; eye, kidney, and nerve damage; and more than 100 other health hazards.
Quite surprising however is how sugar promotes cancer. In his book "Life Over Cancer", Keith I. Block, M.D and a renowned integrative cancer-care specialist and medical director of the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment says "most cancer cells thrive on a high sugar diet…if you strangulate the supply of sugar to the tumor, it may actually trigger a form of biological suicide among the malignant cells…very few cancers can survive without a steady supply of glucose.” he also adds "... all your cells need glucose (blood sugar), but cancer cells are “glucose guzzlers,”
You need not even read too much of research reports to know what sugar is doing to our body- just see the people that are following the Standard American Diet, which has the world's highers per capita sugar consumption. Slowly we all are heading that way.
Its never too late- Stop sugar, save your body and save earth too. The first 7 days are hard- it then becomes easy and by 21 days, you will never want sugar.
Extra Notes:
So how does sugar make you fat? Here’s what happens: Normally, when you eat sugary food, your body’s digestive system breaks the food down into glucose, a simple sugar that is your body’s main source of energy. Glucose is easily absorbed into your bloodstream. When your blood glucose (also known as blood sugar) rises, that’s a signal to your pancreas to release insulin, which regulates your body’s blood-sugar levels and escorts glucose into your cells, where it’s used to create energy.
Now, when you consume sugar in any form all day long, your body produces excess glucose (anything you don’t need immediately for energy), which is first converted into glycogen, the storage form of glucose. Your body can only store a limited amount of glycogen, so excess glucose is stored as body fat.
1.William Dufty declared in his landmark, best-selling 1975 book, Sugar Blues, “the difference between sugar addiction and narcotic addiction is largely one of degree.”
He goes on to explain: “After all, heroin is nothing but a chemical. They take the juice of the poppy and they refine it into opium and then they refine it to morphine and finally to heroin.
“Sugar is [also] nothing but a chemical,” Dufty continued. “They take the juice of the cane or the beet, and they refine it to molasses and then they refine it to brown sugar and finally to strange white crystals.”
I did not however expect one side effect of this decision. A surprising weight loss .
I weighed about 94 kilograms when I wrote that post (with a overweight BMI of 29.4) today as I weigh myself the scale shows 73 kgs (BMI at 23.0). All I did was go off sugar (which includes jaggery and juices).
Prior to this, for the last 5 years I had made various attempts at losing weight, cutting down on oil, fats, starches, exercise etc etc.. perhaps other than taking medication, there was no stone left un-turned. I yo-yo'd between 80 kgs to 94 kgs during these years. During these years I also realised that diet, starving, fasting and all other fad methods are just temporary and perhaps work for only a few. Until a few months ago, I always believed that I consumed very little sugar- a couple of teaspoon in my tea and "occasional" dessert after a meal. Never did I realise how much of an impact those few teaspoons made.
Was sugar the culprit all these days- I think so.
In fact other than causing large scale environmental turmoil, sugar can wreck havoc in our bodies. Sugar is addictive and it is so addictive that it is called the new age cocaine 1. It is hard to get off it- but it is possible and one should.
First of all, the sugar industry is a big lobby with a massive political clout. It is so powerful that in 1960's it paid researchers at Harvard to show that fat and not sugar caused heart disease.
These reports then shaped nutrition requirements for years and most of them continue to be used. So whatever value that is considered as 'safe sugar intake' all require a re look.
As newer research is pouring out, sugar in our diet is shown to cause heart disease; cancer; eye, kidney, and nerve damage; and more than 100 other health hazards.
Quite surprising however is how sugar promotes cancer. In his book "Life Over Cancer", Keith I. Block, M.D and a renowned integrative cancer-care specialist and medical director of the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment says "most cancer cells thrive on a high sugar diet…if you strangulate the supply of sugar to the tumor, it may actually trigger a form of biological suicide among the malignant cells…very few cancers can survive without a steady supply of glucose.” he also adds "... all your cells need glucose (blood sugar), but cancer cells are “glucose guzzlers,”
You need not even read too much of research reports to know what sugar is doing to our body- just see the people that are following the Standard American Diet, which has the world's highers per capita sugar consumption. Slowly we all are heading that way.
Its never too late- Stop sugar, save your body and save earth too. The first 7 days are hard- it then becomes easy and by 21 days, you will never want sugar.
Extra Notes:
So how does sugar make you fat? Here’s what happens: Normally, when you eat sugary food, your body’s digestive system breaks the food down into glucose, a simple sugar that is your body’s main source of energy. Glucose is easily absorbed into your bloodstream. When your blood glucose (also known as blood sugar) rises, that’s a signal to your pancreas to release insulin, which regulates your body’s blood-sugar levels and escorts glucose into your cells, where it’s used to create energy.
Now, when you consume sugar in any form all day long, your body produces excess glucose (anything you don’t need immediately for energy), which is first converted into glycogen, the storage form of glucose. Your body can only store a limited amount of glycogen, so excess glucose is stored as body fat.
1.William Dufty declared in his landmark, best-selling 1975 book, Sugar Blues, “the difference between sugar addiction and narcotic addiction is largely one of degree.”
He goes on to explain: “After all, heroin is nothing but a chemical. They take the juice of the poppy and they refine it into opium and then they refine it to morphine and finally to heroin.
“Sugar is [also] nothing but a chemical,” Dufty continued. “They take the juice of the cane or the beet, and they refine it to molasses and then they refine it to brown sugar and finally to strange white crystals.”
