When sugar was first discovered – “the reeds which produce honey without bees” – it was considered a “fine spice.” But that all changed from the year 1500 AD when technological improvements and New World sources turned it into a cheap, bulk commodity.

The result? Sugar became one of the biggest culprits in the changes of our diets. For instance, in 1822 the average amount of added sugar in our diets was around one can of soda every five days. Today, the amount of sugar the average person takes in amounts to a can of soda every 7 hours. And it’s killing us.

There are many dangers behind the consumption of sugar that are both external and internal.

Here are a few points on the disadvantages of sugar consumption and how to combat them in your everyday life, thanks to Health Renewal. To be honest, it’s actually not that difficult.

1. Sugar in its current everyday form, is refined cane sugar. We should rather be consuming complex sugars. Overloading the system with pure glucose puts stress on the pancreas which then suffers and become less efficient in using energy, breaking down of energy (thus resulting in weight gain), and increased resistance to insulin – which can lead to diabetes.
2. Generally the recommendation is six teaspoons of sugar per day, which is still a large amount, but you need sugar for energy. Rather than consuming refined sugars such as chocolate, fast food and fizzy drinks, replace them with low GI fruits and complex carbs.
3. The general rule for a healthy diet is to stick to complex carbs, non-refined foods and low GI foods as they benefit a slow release of energy. It assists the pancreas in working at a more restful level without overstressing your system, and the cells can utilise the energy and not store the excess energy. This results in more energy to use over the long term, and not result in peaks and dips in energy. It also helps to balance blood sugar levels and avoid “crashing”.

But what are the long term effects of too much sugar in the system? Let’s see:

1. High levels of sugar binds to the protein found in the collagen of your skin & body, a bond which causes the enzyme to be less functional. A lot of toxin build-up can lead to an increase of inflammation in the area. This process is called glycation, and results in voluminous collagen to becomes more compressed and reduce the youthfulness of the skin. (thus presenting a more “aged” and haggard look).
   The component that this process makes are AGES (Advanced Glycation End Products), that can even lead to damaging the DNA of your cells, leading to long term chronic illnesses & cancers. This is not restricted to your skin, the dangers of AGES affects the entire body and can lead to decreased brain workings resulting in strokes and Alzheimer’s disease. The highest levels of AGES are prevalent in diabetes patients, which again highlights the dangerous connection between sugar and damage caused in the body.
2. One of the greatest ways of preventing AGES is by supplementing with Anti-oxidants (such as Pycnogenol, Alpha Lipoic Acid and Vitamin C) which can be applied topically on the skin, or taken internally.
3. At Health Renewal they have launched a brand new product, Metformin: This is a very effective in reducing the AGES in the body. It lowers the sugar levels in the blood and slows down the creation of AGES. Further our IV treatments can give high concentration of nutraceuticals directly to the tissues, such as Glutathione and Vitamin C.

Low GI fruits: Oranges, pineapple, strawberries & berries in general, apricot, guava. (also high in fibre, good for digestive system)
Food stuffs (carbs): Rye Bread, whole wheat bread, bran flakes, oats, sweet potato, beans & lentils.
Lean Protein: look at alkaline / acidity
AVOID: Pasta, white bread, cakes, sweets, fast foods

Dr Shahra of Skin body Renewal adds some more interesting facts to this subject in the podcast below:

Got it? Well if it’s just like too beyond you all you have to do is remember this: A touch to the lips is a lifetime on the hips.

[source: healthrenewal]