Sugar or ‘the devil’ as you may know it.

We hear about it all the time, in all its forms, fructose, sucrose, glucose, galactose, maltose and lactose. That’s a lot of ‘ose’.

Now, they’re not all bad, and it’s their construction which determines their absorption or malabsorption in the body.

The more important of the ‘oses’…

Sucrose, which contains two molecules, glucose and fructose.

Glucose, which is found in every living cell everywhere, in plants and animals.

Fructose, which our bodies don’t produce and don’t have much need for.

But without getting too ‘sciencey’ on you, there are a few reasons why the body doesn’t respond well to a diet high in sugar.

When we talk about sugar, we are referring to that mentioned above, sucrose, or ‘table sugar’. Glucose is an important molecule so we’ll leave that one alone, the real culprit in today’s sugar epidemic is fructose. So let’s discuss the nitty gritty.

Since we don’t need it, it’s the liver’s job to clear fructose from our system. Ingestion of a large amount of fructose will place significant strain on the liver, needing to work overtime to process the unnecessary.

“…there is no biological need for dietary fructose. When ingested by itself, fructose is poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, and it is almost entirely cleared by the liver…”

A small amount of fructose from fruit is fine, where there is also the inclusion of fibre and essential vitamins and minerals. So we’re getting some bang for our buck…or snack. It’s almost impossible to over consume fructose from fruit, so don’t get too concerned over that one. The main culprit for fructose consumption in modern day diets comes from processed foods, where we have the inclusion of highly concentrated sugary syrups, such as high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

What happens when we overload the liver with fructose? Firstly, glycogen is produced, this is the molecule that gives us energy from food. After glycogen stores have been reached, the remaining fructose (that doesn’t convert to glycogen) will be stored as fat,  leading to potential obesity and other diseases, such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. If you’re going to give up the sweet stuff, it may be a good idea to do a liver cleanse to give the system a good dredge and put you on the right path, toward optimum health.

Now, surely you know sugar can cause diabetes?

Consumption of sugar stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin which regulates blood sugar levels, over consumption of sugar leads to insulin resistance. Here, the pancreas goes into overdrive to produce insulin, which ultimately becomes ineffective. You may know someone who has developed type 2 diabetes? This is how that happens.

Your body stops responding to insulin, which means your blood sugar doesn’t get regulated. Hence, you need to be put on insulin medication to stabilise blood sugar levels.

Diabetes is serious, very serious. It can lead to a range of health issues, such as the loss of sight, hearing, limbs and even life.

Sugar consumption, isn’t something to be messed with.

Sugar is high in energy (calories) and has a low GI. Which means, you can eat lots of it without getting too full, and when you do get full, you digest it really quickly, so you can eat more again soon after. The more you eat, the more energy that’s going into the body, but unless you’re running a marathon every day, this energy lies dormant, doesn’t get processed by the liver and as we know from above, turns into fat.

 While you’re debating the pros and cons of excess sugar intake, did you know it can also affect your skin?

Sugar has been shown to have a direct impact on ageing. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs), have most recently been linked to skin ageing, there are two types of AGEs; one you find from cooking (grilling, frying, roasting) and the other, yep you guessed it, sugar.

So if there’s no other reason that tickles your fancy, let it be this.

Adding to the risk of diabetes, ageing, fatty liver disease, and obesity; is the issue of sugars ‘addictive’ like behaviour.

It has been said that sugar affects the same brain frequencies as those awoken by drugs, meaning that you can become a sugar ‘addict’, though this is particularly hard to measure. On a neurobiological level, a study in 2013  found that sugar appears to be more robust than cocaine.

Like any habit, it’s not easy to kick. We recommend the ‘cold turkey’ approach. If you’re going to do it, do it properly. As well as sipping on something to curb cravings. Liver Cleanse Tea, Digestive Herbs, formerly Tiny Tea, Her Tea, and Man Tea all work to nourish the gut, in this unique way, they help to eliminate sugar cravings.

Yours in Health,
Your Tea