WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR BODY WHEN YOU EAT TOO MUCH SUGAR?

I’m sure you are aware by now that I am against SUGAR. IN FACT, I THINK IT IS A TOXIC MATERIAL THAT IS KILLING US. I also think that the Mouth is the window to your health, since as a dentist I see lots of beginning health problems show up in my patients mouth before they see it. Most of the problems that I see are related to SUGAR CONSUMPTION such as decay, gum disease and diabetes. I would say in general with my patients that if your mouth is unhealthy (Decay, gum disease, abscessed teeth, infections, bone loss etc.) then you probably have other health issues somewhere in your body? One of the big culprits that we see a lot lately is diabetes or prediabetes. I read an article recently that said about 60% of the people in America over age 45 have undiagnosed prediabetes!

So today, I wanted to talk about what happens to your body when you eat too much sugar. First of all, I want to mention that sugar is linked to 45 different medical conditions such as CANCER, HEART ATTACKS, STROKES, HARDENING OF THE ARTERIES, ELEVATED CHOLESTEROL, INSULIN RESISTENCE, PREDIABETES, TYPE II DIABETES, DECAY, GUM DISEASE, PREMATURE BIRTH ABOUT 35 OTHERS. Second of all I want you to know that the AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION SAYS THAT YOU SHOULD NOT CONSUME MORE THAN ABOUT 6 TEASPOONS OF SUGAR PER DAY!!! From my standpoint as a dentist, I think it should be somewhere between 0-2 teaspoons per day. In reality, both of those are difficult to do because SUGAR is in almost anything that comes in a container of any kind. The other day, I found SUGAR in Morton’s salt!

So, let’s discuss what actually does happen to your body when you consume too much Sugar.

The number one thing that happens fairly rapidly is that your blood sugar will spike. That means that the amount of sugar in your bloodstream rises dramatically. This is because Sugar is absorbed very rapidly. Many people report that shortly after consuming sugar, they feel a HIGH! As soon as this happens, our pancreas releases insulin to bring the sugar level down. Why does the pancreas do this? It knows that high levels of sugar can do a lot of damage to your body so the purpose of insulin is to try and maintain a balance between high and low. High levels of sugar in your body can do damage to eyes, kidneys, blood vessels, nerves and many organs and if serious enough it can shorten your lifespan. In fact, US data estimates that individuals with Type II diabetes diagnosed at ages 30, 40, 50 years died on average about 14,10, 6 years earlier than non-diabetics. I recently had a patient that had to have their foot removed because of damage from diabetes so it is very clear we don’t want diabetes and in my opinion, lets eliminate one of the big factor causing the problems-SUGAR!

Eating too much sugar is also strongly associated with weight gain and high blood pressure. In fact, many studies have proven that sugar is a very inflammatory food and inflammation anywhere in the body can be a serious problem of the long term. I even read that Sugar is linked to several autoimmune disease and inflammatory bowel diseases.

According to Harvard Health, sugar is one of the greatest threats to your heart. The higher the sugar intake, the higher the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. One of my patients told me last week that his mother died of a heart attack at age 70 and the doctor blamed it on her sugar intake. Research from a study in 2010 revealed that sugar consumption does harm to the collagen and elastin in the skin which of course makes us look older. So, if Sugar doesn’t kill us I guess we just look dead. In the same study, teenagers with high sugar consumption had 54% increased risk of acne.

Last but not least is the obvious connection between sugar and cavities and gum disease. It has been well documented for many years that sugar causes cavities. Actually, sugar just feeds the bacteria that cause the cavities. What is interested to me is that when they dig up caveman skeletons, they basically find no decay. Those poor guys didn’t even have a toothbrush, but they also had no sugar.

We can go on and on but I think you get the idea. SUGAR IS REALLY BAD FOR YOU AND CAN LEAD TO LOTS OF HEALTH PROBLEMS AND PROBABLY PREMATURE DEATH. So, our dental office has decided to try and do something to curb this toxic food. In the month of January, we are going to offer a totally free online 30 day SUGAR DETOX PROGRAM. What does that mean? That means that for anyone who is interested, you will be receiving emails of what to do and how to do it. Basically, you will eliminate ALL SUGAR from your diet for the month of January. Sugar is 8 times more addictive than Cocaine so the first week will be pretty rough as you will probably have some withdrawal symptoms. From there on it gets better and the cravings go away, and most people feel better and look better and many will even lose some weight. It will also be very hard because anything that is in a container has sugar so you will need to go through the refrigerator and the pantry and through out anything with sugar in it. You have to get rid of all of it or else you will cheat. Can you be tough? Can you put on your big boy/girl pants and make it for a month? That is my challenge to you. You will feel better and be healthier and I’m hoping it will create a new person!

So here are some other hints to help you avoid SUGAR and processed foods (Almost all processed foods contain sugar!).
1. Stay to the outer perimeter of the grocery store. That is where the fresh vegetables, fruits and meats are located. The inner part of the store is everything in a package/box or some kind of container.
2. Always read the ingredients before you buy. If it has anything with an “OSE” (All sugars end in “OSE” like fructose, glucose, dextrose etc.) or any big chemical words that you don’t know what they are-THEN DON’T BUY IT! The other day I found Dextrose in Morton’s salt! How can that be????
3. Look for the expiration date-Fresh foods will not last for months on your shelf or in your refrigerator. When it says, “USE BY DATE” and that date is months or years from now, that means that there are tons of chemicals and preservatives etc. in this container that will prevent the food from spoiling. I don’t want to eat all those chemicals! Many of them have been proven to cause or be linked to IBS, IBD, Crohn’s disease, bloating, diarrhea, gas etc. Try leaving all processed foods out of your diet for just one month and you will be shocked how much better you will feel.
4. When in doubt, the fewer ingredients the better. Fresh foods won’t have a label, but everything packaged and processed will to extend their shelf life.
5. Don’t let the words “ORGANIC OR NATURAL” fool you for ingredients in a container.

SUMMARY-It is obvious that your mouth is the window to your health. In my opinion, we need to eliminate SUGAR and processed foods from our diet. Sugar, along with lots of chemicals and additives are in almost anything in a container. Please switch to fresh foods and unprocessed foods and in my opinion, avoid the fast-food restaurants as they are loaded to the gills with all kinds of chemicals, sugars and salts. Remember, the American Heart Association recommends only 6 tsps. of SUGAR PER DAY! SO, FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY LET’S THROW OUT SUGAR AND GET HEALTHY FOR 2024. The doctors and staff are behind you and call us if we can help. 713-781-2800.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Spiker
“THE MOUTH IS THE WINDOW TO YOUR HEALTH”. BRUSH AND FLOSS TWICE DAILY, AVOID SUGAR FOR 2023, AND SEE YOUR DENTIST AND PHYSICIAN REGULARLY.

Spiker Davis D.D.S. drspikerdavis@thepaleodentist.com John Seger M.D. Matt Guerre D.D.S.
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