The “Sugar Summary” Edition
BLOG #103 “SUGAR, HEART ATTACKS AND A DENTAL CLEANING”
Dr. Spiker Davis D.D.S. 713-781-2800, Jenna Nixon Holistic Nutritionist 281-433-9996 & Dr. Matt Guerre D.D.S. 713-781-2800
In collaboration with Dr. John Seger M.D. Cardiologist 713-791-9444
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As most of you know, I am anti SUGAR. I fuss about it all the time, and I read labels all the time and I think people are getting sick of hearing me talk about it. I mainly talk about it because I see how bad it is for you, and I see all of conditions (Like decay) that are a result of eating it. So, I thought in this blog I would sum it all together and stop for a while.
People all over the world consume sugar almost daily. It is in almost anything that is a container such as canned foods, bottled drinks, packages of any kind. Anything in a container must have ingredients listed on the back by law. If you turn the container over, you will find the ingredients on the back. My own study found that about 80% of anything in a container has sugar! It is hard to avoid. So since most of us consume SUGAR, here is everything you might want to know about it.
So, what is sugar? Basically, there are 2 kinds of sugar: Natural sugar like in fruit and refined sugar that has been added to food or drinks. Refined sugar, in my opinion, is the bad kind because it is not natural. Caveman only had sugar from fruits when in season or if he could somehow capture some honey. Today, Americans are consuming about 200 pounds of refined sugar per year that we add to everything. About 80% of the refined sugar on the market today is from sugar cane and 20% comes from sugar beets. The process involves extracting the juice from the cane or beets and then crystallizing that to form our white granular sugar.
Natural sugars usually end with an “OSE” such as glucose, fructose, sucrose etc. For example, fructose is found in many fruits, and it is sometimes mixed with sucrose. Glucose is the sugar that your body makes to get its energy. Refined sugar that is added to food and drinks comes in many forms and there are about 61 different names. In my opinion, there are lots of names so that the manufacturers can confuse you and make you think that you are not eating sugar. The main ones I see a lot on the ingredient labels are dextrose and corn syrup. So just remember that almost anything that ends in an “OSE” or a syrup is really just to fool you, and they are really sugar.
It seems like everything I read lately has a link between sugar and some kind of disease. The big ones are decay, gum disease, diabetes, heart attack, stroke dementia and cancer. In total there are about 45 links between sugar and some diseases. On top of that, any excess SUGAR is stored as fat. If you want a quick weight loss program, just drop all sugar for about a month and see what happens.
Excessive sugar will of course wipe out a healthy mouth. Too much sugar and not enough brushing, flossing etc. will lead to lots of decay. The main process is that sugar feeds the bad bacteria in your mouth. When these bacteria eat sugar, they then release acid and toxins. The acid eats holes in your teeth and the toxins infect your gums. Since most Americans consume 200 pounds per year that is close to half a pound per day and most of it you didn’t even know you ate it as it was hidden in the container. I found sugar in Morton’s salt!
As far as I’m concerned there are no benefits to having sugar in your diet. It provides absolutely no nutrients of any kind. The only advantage that I can see is that for some ultra-athletes, it serves well as an energy boost before and during athletic events. As team dentist for the Oilers and the Rockets, I also noticed that even though it helped with their jobs by providing energy, it also created a lot of cavities. The good news is that they can afford to have them fixed. Also, if you are a diabetic there may be times when sugar is needed to avoid dangerous conditions.
I am often asked what is the best kind of sugar. In my opinion, there is not a best kind of sugar as the body treats them all the same. All sugar will make cavities, make you fat and be linked to 45 different medical conditions. Sometimes, people consider sugar in fruits to be healthy, but I think the main reason is that a glass of milk has a lot less sugar (about 10 grams of sugar) than a can of coke (40 grams of sugar).
I am also asked routinely what is the best sugar substitute. For example, what do I put in my coffee? I have been studying this question for years and in my opinion, there are only 2-3 options that appear to be safe.
- Monk Fruit is my favorite at the moment. It is very sweet and does not leave an after taste. It comes from the monk fruit, and it comes in a liquid. I just add a few drops.
- Erythritol is a sugar alcohol and several reports and doctors that I know recommend this. I found it in one of my favorite coffee creamers called Bliss. Bliss is made from coconut milk and almond milk, and it is delicious.
- Stevia is not artificial, and it has zero calories. It comes from the stevia plant, and it is 200-300 times sweeter than sugar. In my research it seems that there needs to be more studies on this, but for now it seems to be ok.
If you just absolutely have to have something sweet and sugary to put in your coffee or on your breakfast cereal, then I would go for natural unprocessed raw honey. It actually tastes great, and I used it on my pancakes and in my coffee for years. As with anything, don’t use too much just because it is natural. It will create cavities and get stored as fat.
Like all health-related matters, you can find almost any study for any subject that will say you are ok. The American Heart Association says that you should not have more than 6 teaspoons (24 grams) of sugar for a healthy heart. The CDC advises that starting at age 2 a person’s daily sugar consumption should not be more than 10% of their total calorie intake. That is about 12 teaspoons! As a dentist I think you’re crazy if you consume on average more than 2-3 teaspoons per day. That is really hard to do but I think I’m healthier for it. To be honest, most days I don’t have any sugar but then comes a weekend or out with friends etc. and I cheat-especially when I’m out with the grandkids.
You will find sugar in lots of foods, but I think the number one source would be cola’s, energy drinks and presweetened teas. Also, there is usually a lot of sugar added to fruit juice. Please read the label on everything in a container! The American Heart Association lists candy and ice cream as a top sugar source. Other major culprits would include all kinds of sauces such as salad dressings, mayonnaise, ketchup, barbecue sauces and honey mustard sauces.
Are you addicted to sugar? I know several patients and relatives that are absolutely addicted and cannot quit. I read that sugar is actually 8 times more addictive than Cocaine! I believe that. In today’s world the more sugar you consume the more you want! If you want to quit, to me the answer is to just cut it off cold turkey. I can’t see how anyone could just gradually cut back. If it’s there, you will eat it. I know that some people have been able to quit by using sweet fruit to replace their cravings. One of the ones that I love is just plain old PRUNES. I wish you luck if you are addicted and please call us if we can help in any way.
SUMMARY-It is obvious to ME that your mouth is the window to your health. In my opinion, we should all focus on our health every day and that includes brushing, flossing, dental cleanings and while we are at it, lets visit our physician for that annual checkup! What do you think? I also think that we should all try our best to eliminate sugar from our diet and eat like a caveman.
The doctors and staff are behind you and call us if we can help. 713-781-2800. Also, please call or email JENNA NIXON if you need some detailed NUTRITIONAL counseling from a true WELL-TRAINED professional.
REMEMBER, “YOU DON’T HAVE TO FLOSS ALL OF YOUR TEETH, JUST THE ONES YOU WANT TO KEEP”!
LET’S MAKE THIS OUR HEALTHIEST YEAR EVER!
SUMMARY-It is obvious to ME that your mouth is the window to your health. In my opinion, we should all focus on our health every day and that includes brushing, flossing, dental cleanings and while we are at it, lets visit our physician for that annual checkup! What do you think? I also think that we should all try our best to eliminate sugar from our diet and eat like a caveman.
The doctors and staff are behind you and call us if we can help. 713-781-2800. Also, please call or email JENNA NIXON if you need some detailed NUTRITIONAL counseling from a true WELL-TRAINED professional.
REMEMBER, “YOU DON’T HAVE TO FLOSS ALL OF YOUR TEETH, JUST THE ONES YOU WANT TO KEEP”!
LET’S MAKE THIS OUR HEALTHIEST YEAR EVER!
Spiker
“THE MOUTH IS THE WINDOW TO YOUR HEALTH”. BRUSH AND FLOSS TWICE DAILY, AVOID SUGAR AND PROCESSED FOOD FOR 2024 AND SEE YOUR DENTIST AND PHYSICIAN ON A REGULAR BASIS.
Spiker Davis D.D.S. spiker@thepaleodentist.com – John Seger M.D. – Matt Guerre D.D.S.
Jenna Nixon Nutritionist Jenna@goodthingsnaturalhealth.com 281-433-9996
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