7 Sugar-Busting Nutrients.
From leftover Halloween treats right through to New Year’s party fare, it’s easy to overindulge this time of year. But who needs the extra—and nutrient empty—calories?
If Americans knew all the dangers of sugar, it would be withdrawn from our list of safe food additives. Known to suppress the immune system and feed cancer cells, sugar and foods containing this sweetener quickly raise blood sugar (glucose) levels, providing a quick “high” followed by an equally rapid crash.
Sugary drinks and foods lead to belly fat, implicated in heart disease, and lower insulin sensitivity, increasing the risk of diabetes. Sugar and simple carbohydrates also contribute to aging, brain fog, dementia, learning problems, and tooth decay.
It’s no surprise that obesity has become a national epidemic at the same time that U.S. dependence on sweeteners has increased. Americans consume five and half times more sugar than the French.
Increasingly used in processed foods and soft drinks, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is broken down in the liver and turned directly into fat. Consumption of HFCS jumped from 19 pounds per capita in 1980 to 63.8 pounds per person in 2000.
Dr. Ann Louise’s Take:
Sugar and even eating too many simple carbs act more like drugs that our bodies must detoxify rather than food. Believe it or not, you can satisfy a sweet tooth with fiber-rich fall veggies.
Even though a sweet potato contains 15 grams of natural sugar, it won’t spike blood glucose, only to have to you crash afterward—as long as you eat it as part of a meal. This is only one vegetable that offers plenty of fiber to help you feel full—not to mention lots of important nutrients.
By contrast, refined sugar offers only “empty” calories. Refining strips away critical minerals—chromium, cobalt, copper, magnesium, manganese, and zinc.
A healthy diet, regular exercise, and weight loss can reduce the incidence for Type 2 diabetes by over 50 percent. Simple lifestyle changes have been found more effective than the diabetes drug metformin—without adverse effects like diarrhea, gas, headaches, indigestion, nausea or vomiting.
In addition to sampling fall’s bountiful harvest, anyone who’s been eating sugary foods needs to supplement the diet with sugar-busting nutrients. Here are seven nutrients I recommend to anyone fighting the blood sugar blues:
1. Chromium (200 to 600 mcg a day) to prevent glucose intolerance, fatigue, and belly fat (linked to heart disease), available in Uni Key’s Weight Loss Formula.
2. Manganese (10 to 30 mg a day) to support mitochrondria (the energy supply in each cell) and balance mineral levels in the body.
3. L-glutamine (500 mg 3 times a day) to reduce sugar cravings, metabolize fat, and assist in the production of insulin.
4. B complex vitamins (50 mg a day) to effectively convert starches to sugar.
5. Pantothenic acid (500 mg a day) for carbohydrate and fat metabolism.
6. Vitamin C (3,000 mg) to prevent cell death and speed wound healing, a serious concern for anyone with insulin problems like diabetes.
7. Zinc (up to 50 mg once per day) to fight dangerous free radicals, infections, and speed wound healing.
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19890677
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19770648
