Are You FED UP With These Health Problems?

There is a movie coming out next month called Fed Up (#FedUpMovie) that will be of interest to all those who read Home Cures That Work.  It’s about how our food has been adulterated with more and more sugar over the past couple hundred years and now culminates in tremendous health problems for the entire population.

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  More than half of our population is overweight.
• Almost half have pre-diabetes or diabetes.
• We are seeing these problems in younger people than ever.  Our grade-school children already have “adult-onset diabetes” and obesity.

This is not a new problem.

From 1493 when Queen Isabella told Columbus to take sugar cane to the New World because the climate was favorable to its growth, the sugar industry has had a continuous increase.  The 17th century saw a dramatic increase in sugar consumption, where common people began to eat cakes, jams, and candy.  From that time on, sugar was not an occasional treat, but rather enjoyed increasing consumption.  The following is just refined sugar consumption per person over history:

Year	Pounds of refined sugar per person
1700	4
1800	18
1900	90
2000	130
2009	50% eat over 180 lbs/year

By 1792, it was noticed that sugar had begun to affect the population of Europe and the Anti-Saccharite Society was formed to protest the effect of sugar on people’s health. This is when sugar consumption was about a tenth what it is today!  It induces a British sugar boycott through Europe.  However, there was plenty of sugar coming from other sources, including Germany, Denmark, and Holland.  This boycott wasn’t really about health, though, it was really against the monopoly of the British sugar industry.  However, the thought that sugar had a negative effect on health was instituted.

1912 — Dr. Robert Boesler, New Jersey dentist notes that, “Modern manufacturing of sugar has brought about entirely new diseases. Sugar has caused a vast degeneration of the people.”

1924 — Dr. Seale Harris of the University of Alabama discovers that sugar can cause hyperinsulinism and recommends people cut sugar consumption.

1943 — Dr. John Tinterta rediscovers the vital importance of the endocrine system and connects sugar use to production of hypoadrenocortic episodes in humans intolerant to sugar, where adrenal hormones are suppressed, producing inability to think clearly, allergies, inability to handle alcohol, depression, apprehension, craving for sweets and low blood pressure.

We have known about the effect of sugar on the endocrine system for hundreds of years, so none of this information is new.  What has changed is the consumption has increased so much that we are seeing its effects on everyone.

Food Allergies

One of the effects of large amounts of sugar is dysfunction of the immune system, creating food allergies.  We have looked at this in detail in some of the other articles in the May 2014 issue of Home Cures that Work.

Diabetes

Diabetes Mellitus is when sugar is increased in the blood and spills into the urine.  The blood sugar gets elevated for two primary reasons:

1. There isn’t enough insulin to get the sugar into the cells so it stays in the blood.
2. There is too much sugar in the cells so it spills over into the blood.
3. The first is called Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus, and the second is called Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Since historically we have only been able to measure or find sugar in the urine, these two diseases were given the same name; however, they are very different. In fact, in many ways they are opposites!

While the cells in Type 1 Diabetes are starving for energy, the cells in Type 2 Diabetes are so full of sugar they are spilling over into the blood.  Thus, though both types of diabetes have high blood sugar, they have very different reasons for it.  This is addressed in more detail with demonstrations in the Diabetes Reversal Talk. 

The sugar-overload, or Type 2, type of diabetes is increasing at an alarming rate.  It is literally epidemic.  Everyone has or knows someone who has diabetes from eating too much sugar.

Adrenal Fatigue

The adrenal glands keep our normal sleep-wake cycles.  In that sense, these hormones are the master regulators of our metabolism.  In the morning, we release cortisol to wake us up and in the evening the cortisol levels are low to allow us to sleep.  These hormones also help us get through stress of any kind – physical, emotional, mental, infections, inflammation and so forth.  We also release adrenalin when we need an extra boost of energy.

Sugar is a stimulant.  It causes the adrenal glands to make more hormones.  When we eat refined sugar, we get a rapid shift in the blood glucose which causes more adrenal output.  Over time, this can lead to several problems:

1. Adrenal fatigue
2. Panic attacks
3. Insulin resistance
4. Sleep problems

Since we no longer have a normal “circadian rhythm,” we lose the ability to function on a sleep-wake cycle.  We are half-awake all night and half-asleep all day.  Energy is lacking.  Muscles fatigue easily.  We’re tired, but can’t sleep.  We call this “adrenal fatigue.”

Heart Disease

A recent study indicates that sugar is more tied to heart disease than cholesterol![i]  Multiple studies have shown this correlation.  I have so many people come in to my office worried that their cholesterol is elevated, but don’t even think about how much sugar they consume.

The amount of sugar is tied to inflammation, which allows deposits into the walls of arteries.  Sugar has multiple ways to cause heart disease. Click to Tweet.

Cancer

Cancer is caused by both inflammation and elevation in sugar.  Inflammation, as we have noted, comes from eating sugar, as does obesity, which is directly correlated with cancer.  Several studies have noted that higher blood sugar increases the rate of cancer growth.[ii]

Inflammation

Arthritis, Lupus and other autoimmune diseases are also correlated with sugar intake.

If you are FED UP with these illnesses, then consider your own test.  I often ask people to go off the following for 3 weeks:

1. Gluten
2. Dairy
3. Sugar (including all processed forms of sugar)

During this trial you should note a difference in energy, mood, allergies, rashes, joint pain and other symptoms.  One woman who tried it came back and said, “Well, Doc, I guess this is going to be a permanent change!”  She was so happy to be pain-free for the first time in years.

Your health is worth the sacrifice of taste.  You may find your tastes change and you will begin to enjoy things you never did before.  You will also lose the taste for really sweet stuff.  It’s magical!

Personally, I watched the trailer, and I’m looking forward to the #FedUpMovie coming out next month on May 9.  We’ll be posting a review, as well.

How are you FED UP with your health?