Sweets for the Sweet

Been sweet for so long… 100 yrs ago sugars that were available were; Maple syrup, Sorgham, Honey, Cane sugar. 100 yrs ago we, Americans, consumed about 2 pounds of sugar a year. Today, it is estimated the average American consumes over 100 pounds per year! ( #’s!!)

…and our sweetness grows… 1924, Haven Emerson of Columbia University, Director of Institute of public health, noticed diabetes deaths in NYC increased 15 fold since Civil war yrs, deaths up to 4 fold in US cities. He noticed this coincided w/ equally significant increases in sugar consumption, which had about doubled w introduction of soda and candy companies.

Who are the Sweets? Sucrose; Sucrose, like all complex sugars, breaks down during digestion into two simple sugars: glucose and fructose. Glucose is transported by insulin to the cells for energy, which, unless burned, gets stored away as fat. Glucose is the foundation for the Glycemic Index (GI), which ranks foods on how they affect our blood glucose levels. This index measures how much your blood glucose increases in the two or three hours after eating certain foods Fructose: Processed differently in the body via the liver. : Fructose does not raise blood glucose levels immediately the way glucose does, and is therefore considered low on the glycemic index. But don’t be fooled into thinking that’s a good thing.

‘round and ‘round we go…

Empty love affair? Sugars are more than just tooth decay and empty calories! MANY studies link sugar consumption with diseases, such as; Heart Disease Diabetes/Insulin Resistance Cancer (Metabolic Disease)

…you have my heart… Heart Disease; American Heart Association recommends decreasing one’s sugar (added, not naturally occurring) intake to: Women: ~ 20 grams per day Men: ~30 grams per day Children: ~12 grams per day And last year they made the statement; "excessive consumption of sugars has been linked with several metabolic abnormalities and adverse health conditions, as well as shortfalls of essential nutrients."

…love found in dangerous heights.. 2. Diabetes/Insulin Resistance; Sugar intake does not cause Type 2 diabetes, but excessive sugar intake causes symptoms seen associated w diabetes such as weight gain and insulin resistance. (Diabetes Care 2013;36(1); “moderate amounts of HFCS Impair Insulin sensitivity in HEALTHY young men (ages 21-25). Chronic elevated insulin (and a tired pancreas) leads to; Heart disease Increased Triglycerides High Blood Pressure Decreased HDL’s

…let not your sweet love grow ugly Cancer Cancer (2007 World cancer research fund “Food, Nutrition, Phy activity & prevention of cancer”) 537 pgs. Cancer originates in genetic mutations, but diet, activity level, and other lifestyle factors play a critical role in determining whether these mutations occur, making cancer a largely preventable disease. This is among the main conclusions of Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective, released in November 2007 by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) International and the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR). The report lays out a cogent groundwork for understanding how diet, exercise, and other lifestyle factors affect cancer risk, as well as how to use this information for more effective cancer prevention on a global scale. The report concluded that about 40% of all cancers are linked to poor diet, physical inactivity, and suboptimal body weight. The panelists recommend maintaining a body mass index of between 21 and 23 (until now, the standard recommended range has been 18.5 to 24.5), exercising moderately, and limiting consumption of alcohol, high-fat foods, and refined carbohydrates such as sugary beverages

Look at your love up close… Fructose; a crystalline sugar C 6 H 12 O 6 sweeter and more soluble than glucose : the very sweet levorotatory d -form of fructose that occurs especially in fruit juices and honey —called also fruit sugar, levulosed HFCS (High fructose Corn Syrup) a sweetener made by processing corn syrup to increase the level of fructose, usually to between 42% and 55% of the total sugar, with the balance being glucose. It is used extensively as a sweetener in processed foods and soft drinks, particularly soda and baked goods, but it is included also in many foods not normally thought of as sweet foods. Fructose: Fructose does not raise blood glucose levels immediately the way glucose does, and is therefore considered low on the glycemic index. But don’t be fooled into thinking that’s a good thing. Fructose travels to the liver where it gets converted to triglycerides—the fats in the blood that are associated with heart disease. Like excess blood glucose, blood triglycerides made from fructose are stored as fat, which increases the size of your fat cells, contributing to weight gain and obesity. The excess triglycerides created when you eat fructose increase insulin resistance, thereby boosting insulin production to very high levels, which fosters the development of diabetes in a “back door” fashion. Fructose also interferes with the absorption of minerals and impairs the immune system

“50 ways to name your lover”… 1.Barley malt 2.Beet sugar 3.Brown sugar 4.Buttered syrup 5.Cane juice crystals 6.Cane sugar 7.Caramel 8.Corn syrup 9.Corn syrup solids 10.Confectioner’s sugar 11.Carob syrup 12.Castor sugar 13.Date sugar 14.Demerara sugar 15.Dextran 16.Dextrose 17.Diastatic malt 18.Diatase 19.Ethyl maltol 20.Fructose 21.Fruit juice 22.Fruit juice concentrate 23.Galactose 24.Glucose 25.Glucose solids 26.Golden sugar 27.Golden syrup 28.Grape sugar 29.High-fructose corn syrup 30.Honey 31.Icing sugar 32.Invert sugar 33.Lactose 34.Maltodextrin 35.Maltose 36.Malt syrup 37.Maple syrup 38.Molasses 39.Muscovado sugar 40.Panocha 41.Raw sugar 42.Refiner’s syrup 43.Rice syrup 44.Sorbitol 45.Sorghum syrup 46.Sucrose 47.Sugar 48.Treacle 49.Turbinado sugar 50.Yellow sugar

Take only the best, skip all the rest! Stevia Though it is times sweeter than table sugar, stevia is not a sugar. Unlike other popular sweeteners, it has a glycemic index rating of less than 1 and therefore does not feed candida (yeast) or cause any of the numerous other problems associated with sugar consumption. Truvia consists of just a small portion of the stevia leaf. It's made by seeping the leaves to extract the sweetest components, known as rebiana. Truvia manufacturers purify and process the rebiana to form granules or crystals, which resemble traditional sugar. Contains Erythritol (sugar alcohol) too! Raw Honey With antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, enzymes, carbohydrates, and phytonutrients, raw, unprocessed honey is considered a superfood by many alternative health care practitioners and a remedy for many health ailments. Choose your honey wisely. There is nothing beneficial about processed honey. Molasses ( White refined table sugar is sugar cane with all the nutrition taken out.) Black strap molasses is all of that nutrition that was taken away. A quality organic (must be organic!) molasses provides iron, calcium, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and zinc, and is alkalizing to the body. Coconut Palm sugar Originally made from the sugary sap of the Palmyra palm, the date palm or sugar date palm (Phoenix sylvestris). It’s also made from the sap of coconut palms. With a relatively low glycemic index, Coconut palm sugar is the new rage among health nuts. It’s often called “coconut nectar sugar” or “coconut sugar”. Date Sugar Date sugar is 100% dehydrated dates ground into small pieces. It is a whole food, high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Date sugar can be substituted for granulated sugar or brown sugar cup for cup, but it does not dissolve in liquids. Most alternative health practitionars consider Date Sugar to be a healthy sugar alternative Maple Syrup is made by boiling sap collected from natural growth maple trees during March & April. It is refined sap and is therefore processed. It has a high glycemic index, and though it is much more nutritious then refined table sugar and high fructose corn syrup, there are better choices. Sugar Alcohols; Erythritol, Sorbitol, Xylitol, Mannitol, Glycerol; a hydrogenated form of carbohydrate (whose carbonyl group has been reduced). Sometimes causes stomach and intestinal gasses/discomfort. No glycemic response. No tooth decay.

“Natural Sugars” Raw natural sugar has a balance of sucrose, glucose, and fructose, whereas refined sugars are almost exclusively sucrose. Sucanat & Rapadura are dehydrated at low heat, and not separated from the molasses, the natural balance of vitamins and minerals naturally present in the natural sugar cane have been retained, including the polyphenols. To understand why this wrongly called "evaporated cane juice" is not really healthy, you must first understand why a natural sugar cane is healthy and nourishing. The natural sugar cane is brimming with vitamins, minerals, enzymes, fibers, and phytonutrients that help the body digest the naturally occurring sugars. The minerals required to digest sugar are calcium, phosphorous, chromium, magnesium, cobalt, copper, iron, zinc and manganese. It also contains vitamins A, C, B1, B2, B6, niacin, and pantothenic acid, which work synergistically with the minerals to nourish the body. Polyphenols are a large class phytonutrients with powerful antioxidant properties and numerous potential health benefits. Sugarcane contains a unique mix of antioxidant polyphenols. Other types of so-called "natural" sugars on the market like Muscavado, Turbinado, Demarara, wrongly called "Evaporated Cane Juice and Evaporated Cane Sugar", Sugar in the Raw, and Organic Raw Sugar are all refined, though not as much as white sugar. They are all boiled, dehydrated into crystals, then spun in a centrifuge so the crystals are separated from the molasses. The clarifying process is usually done with chemicals, although sometimes through pressure filtration. The crystals are then reunited with some of the molasses in artificial proportions to produce sugars of varying colors of brown.

Coconut palm Sugar The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) has reported that coconut palm sweeteners are the single most sustainable sweetener in the world. It hasn’t yet been commercialized so it is still farmed by small farms as opposed to gigantic corporations. Coconut sugar has an extremely low glycemic index. Contains many minerals and a little bit of Vitamin C. Coconut palm Sugar is naturally low on the Glycemic Index (GI), which has benefits for weight control and improving glucose and lipid levels in people with diabetes (type 1 and type 2). Coconut palm sugars are rated as a GI 35. The major component of coconut sugar is sucrose (70-79%) followed by glucose and fructose (3-9%) each. Minor variations will occur, due to differences in primary processing, raw material source, tree age and variety of coconut. Now that all sounds good, right? However, sucrose is 50% glucose and 50% fructose. Let’s do some simple math and look at the actual fructose content. So the actual amount of fructose can range from 38% to 48.5% (High Fructose Corn Syrup is 55%) Substitute with equal parts

Stevia & Truvia Stevia is made from the Stevia plant…it’s leaves are very sweet. (Sweet Leaf is stevia) Has been used medicinally and for sweetness for 1000’s of years. Is heat stable, has no calories, is not highly processed, chlorgenic acid reduces conversion of glycogen to glucose in the gut : may lower blood sugar, dilate blood vessels so lowers blood pressure, times sweeter than table sugar. Truvia main ingredient is Erythritol, a sugar alcohol, and a highly processed part of stevia called Reb A. According to Coca Cola’s U.S. patent application the method for purifying Truvia’s rebiana is a 42 step process that includes the use of acetone, acetonitrile, metanol, ethanol (yes, the same that you put in your gas tank) and isopropanol (rubbing alcohol). PureVia uses dextrose as main ingredient, and the highly processed Reb A. Part of Pepsi Co.

Splenda (sucralose) Splenda is made when hydroxyl groups on the carbohydrate is replaced with chlorine. It was an accidental find while trying to make an insecticide. It is a 5 step process which requires several chemicals in order to reach desired product. The packets are labeled calorie free as a result of manipulating a loophole in the food labeling laws. The product can be described as sugar free if a serving contains less than 5 grams of sugar, and calorie free if a serving is less than 5 calories. So they set the serving size on bags at.5 grams and the packets contain a serving of 1 gram. A one gram packet contains 4 calories. This can be confirmed on the manufacturer’s website in the FAQ section: “Like many no and low calorie sweeteners, each serving of SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener contains a very small amount of common food ingredients, e.g., dextrose and/or maltodextrin, for volume. Because the amount of these ingredients is so small, SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener still has an insignificant calorie value per serving and meets FDA’s standards for “no calorie” sweeteners. “ No long term or large population studies have been done; longest was 6 mo most were 128 people. One study rats were fed large amounts of this artificial sweetener the results were scary. Problems with thymus glands, enlarged livers, and kidney disorders were common. Rats metabolize sucralose in a more similar manner to humans than any other animal which is why they were used. The FDA first approved rats for study as they were closest to humans in metabolization, then disregarded the study stating rats were not like humans. Splenda is the only organochloride used for human consumption. Others you may be familiar with are DDT, Mustard gas, Chloroform, PCB’s, insecticides, pesticides and solvents. Organochlorides are fat-soluble and solubility can vary, but they tend to accumulate in organ tissues that are high in fat (like the brain) and believed to be permanently stored there. (not sold in Whole foods b/c it does not meet their code of ethics of being a “real food”.

Honey?, Honey 55% fructose Antibacterial & Antifungal (bees add hydrogen peroxide) Contains flavinoids & antioxidants Contains beneficial enzymes and probiotics The vitamins present in honey are B6, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and certain amino acids. The minerals found in honey include calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc. amino acids

Aspartame (Equal, Nutrasweet, Spoonful) An excitotoxin accounts for 75 percent of adverse reactions to food additives reported. The list of problems associated with aspartame consumption is too long and involved to list here!

Ready to SAMPLE? Armstrong Body Systems Armstrong Body Systems Lauri Armstrong, Degreed Dietitian, CLT, PFT, Adv. PFT