Wellness Coaching – The Dangers of a Sugar-Based Diet
It takes about six to eight weeks (depending on the person) to reprogram the body to become accustomed to living on ketones, rather than glucose. When it does, you’ll find that it is well worth the time and effort. Diets that are high in sugar and starch have been shown to cause insulin-resistant problems such as diabetes, hypoglycemia, ADHD, hypothyroidism, irritability, and severe mood swings. Other health related problems from a nutrient-deficient, high starch diet include irritable bowel syndrome, acne, yeast infections, migraines, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, acid reflux, and systemic candida.
In the mid 19th century, the average American consumed about 20 pounds of sugar annually. Today, the average American consumes about 141 pounds of sugar annually. The 2011 USDA estimates the average American consumes about two tons of sugar (enough to fill up a dumpster) in a lifetime. Yes, that’s per person.
Most of this sugar comes from high fructose corn syrup which is the main ingredient in processed and refined foods such as chips, crackers, muffins, cereals, breads, pastries, cakes, cookies, and candy. Soda pop is the leading source of sugar from drink. Besides the sucrose and fructose intake, lactose, the sugar found in dairy products such as milk, cheese, and yogurt, is the third most common form of sugar consumed.
Even if there’s no added sugar, the so-called “health drinks,” such as fruit juice and fruit smoothies, contain a concentrated amount of fructose, which is pure sugar. And just because a food or drink is labeled “organic” or “all natural,” it doesn’t mean it’s good for your body. Your body can’t tell the difference between sugar from cane, sugar from fruit, sugar from milk, sugar from maple syrup, or sugar from honey. To the body, it’s all sugar. Furthermore, so-called “healthy foods” such as whole wheat bread, pasta, rice, legumes, corn, potatoes, and soy all get converted to glucose in the bloodstream. What begins as starch always ends up as sugar in the body.
In the last fifty years, during the same period of this ever-increasing sugar addiction trend in the U.S., we have simultaneously observed the rates of diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, ADHD, systemic candida, and Alzheimer’s disease all skyrocket to epidemic proportions. Diabetes is up from 1.6 million in 1958 to 15.1 million in 2004. Heart disease occurs in 75% of the US population. And cancer has just surpassed heart disease as the number one leading cause of death in America.
Jason Lincoln Jeffers is a Wellness Coach who founded Sunlighten and co-founded Sunlight Day Spa; holistic wellness companies devoted to infrared radiant therapy, sound therapy, and massage therapy. His Wellness Coaching practice embodies infrared sauna detoxification, upper cervical care, and adhering to an alkaline-forming, antioxidant-rich, sugar-, gluten-, and starch-free diet.