Sugar: Good or Bad?

This has been a question I have had for a long time. I know that glucose fuels the brain and that it’s important to take in carbs when you’re exercising. Is sugar vital to our system?

I think that we should all know the right types of sugar and how much is ok. Guess what? It is a lot less than you think.

When I was younger I consumed so much sugar, I swear I was a pre diabetic. My parents were not educated on the effects of sugar on the body. I remember being super lethargic and tired as a teenager and had a myriad of health issues all related to the mass amounts of sugar I consumed.

Let’s explore ways to consume sugar safely, how much we need, and why.

Good Sugars

In nature there are plenty of healthy sugars found in fruits, vegetables, grains and mushrooms. These sugars have various names like polysaccharide and mannose.

The sugar that is health promoting in our system are a long chain sugar that to the tongue don’t taste too sweet. These sugars feed our immune system and our brain giving us the edge we need to stay sharp each day.

To get these precious sugars in the body please see the list below of the foods and ways you can consume them.

Mushrooms

Believe it or not, mushrooms contain polysaccharides. These are long chain sugars that feed the immune system. In addition to polysaccharides, mushrooms also contain galactose, fucose, mannose, xylose and many others. These may sound like foreign words but they are essential to our bodies and cannot be created by our body - we have to eat them

Cranberry

The sugar in cranberry is called mannose, which is known to help support the clearing of a UTI and also helps to prevent bacteria to sticking to the vaginal wall.

Adaptogenic Herbs

This class of herbs that includes astragalus, fo ti, reishi, and many others contain a broad range of essential sugars.

I recommend consuming these daily as they will feed your immune system and restore your body's overall health.

Stevia

This is an herb in nature that tastes sweet to the tongue but does not affect your blood sugar.

Stevia is a great herb to use to replace all sugar in your diet.

Bad Sugars

There is a whole host of bad sugars. These sugars are mainly fructose from fruit, honey, maple syrup, and table sugar. One other bad sugar is called aspartame or NutraSweet. This is one of the worst sugars on the planet.

It may surprise you that one glass of orange juice in the morning contains as much sugar as a typical soda. I know it’s hard to believe, I was shocked to hear that these foods I was addicted to and used way to much of were actually really harming my body.

Here are some of the issues to look out for if you are having a high sugar and carbohydrate rich diet.

  • Diabetes
  • Neuropathy
  • Brain fog
  • Fatigue
  • Immune suppression
  • Viral and bacterial replication
  • Hair loss
  • Weight gain
  • Gut issues like constipation and abdominal pain

I recommend that we begin to limit our intake of sugar and start using things like berries, stevia, xylitol, and dates to sweeten foods.

We need to cut down to no more than 50g of carbohydrates a day and increase fat and protein to replace the need for constant sugar.

Conclusion

I hope I have inspired you to cut the sweet cravings down and increase fat and protein. Stay tuned next week when we discuss how to burn fat as your main source of fuel called keytones or the keytogenic diet.