Sugar - Sweet & Scary

"Refined sugar is lethal when ingested by humans because it provides only that which nutritionists describe as empty or naked calories. In addition, sugar is worse than nothing because it drains and leeches the body of precious vitamins and minerals through the demand its digestion, detoxification, and elimination make upon one's entire system." [malnutrition? nutritional imbalance?]

"Sugar taken every day produces a continuously over-acid condition, and more and more minerals are required from deep in the body in the attempt to rectify the imbalance. Finally, in order to protect the blood, so much calcium is taken from the bones and teeth that decay and general weakening begin." [tooth decay? osteoporosis?]

"Excess sugar eventually affects every organ in the body. Initially, it is stored in the liver in the form of glucose (glycogen). Since the liver's capacity is limited, a daily intake of refined sugar (above the required amount of natural sugar) soon makes the liver expand like a balloon. When the liver is filled to its maximum capacity, the excess glycogen is returned to the blood in the form of fatty acids. These are taken to every part of the body and stored in the most inactive areas: the belly, the buttocks, the breasts, and the thighs." [weight gain? general debility?]

"When these comparatively harmless places are completely filled, fatty acids are then distributed among active organs, such as the heart and kidneys. These begin to slow down; finally their tissues degenerate and turn to fat. The whole body is affected by their reduced ability and abnormal blood pressure is created." [heart disease? kidney disease?]

"Refined sugar lacks natural minerals (which are, however, in the sugar beet or cane). Our parasympathetic nervous system is affected; and organs governed by it, such as the small brain, become inactive or paralyzed. (Normal brain function is rarely thought of as being as biologic as digestion.). The circulatory and lymphatic systems are invaded, and the quality of the red corpuscles starts to change. An overabundance of white cells occurs, and the creation of tissue becomes slower." [nervous system disorders? emotional disorders? circulatory disorders? toxic overload? immune system disorders and deficiency?]

"Our body's tolerance and immunizing power becomes more limited, so we cannot respond properly to extreme attacks, whether they be cold, heat, mosquitoes, or microbes. Excessive sugar has a strong mal-effect on the functioning of the brain; the key to orderly brain function is glutamic acid, a vital compound found in many vegetables. The B vitamins play a major role in dividing glutamic acid into antagonistic-complementary compounds which produce a "proceed" or "control" response in the brain. B vitamins are also manufactured by symbiotic bacteria which live in our intestines. When refined sugar is taken daily, these bacteria wither and die, and our stock of B vitamins gets very low. Too much sugar makes one sleepy; our ability to calculate and remember is lost." [learning disorders? memory loss? nutritional deficiency?]

"It has been proved, however, that (1) sugar is a major factor in dental decay; (2) sugar in a person's diet does cause overweight; (3) removal of sugar from diets has cured symptoms of crippling, world-wide diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and heart illnesses." [obesity? tooth decay? diabetes? cancer?]

"The sugar pushers have been harping on the energy building power of sucrose for years because it contains nothing else. Caloric energy and habit forming taste, that's what sucrose has and nothing else. All other foods contain energy plus. All foods contain some nutrients in the way of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, or minerals - or all of these. Sucrose contains caloric energy - period."

"This is precisely where the major damage to the body from refined sugar arises. To absorb this "predigested carbohydrate," the body has to deplete its store of vitamins and minerals; imbalance is created. Since the stress is continual if the diet is sugar-heavy, the eventual results are chronic ill health." [nutritional imbalance? ill health?]

"Dr. Martin classified refined sugar as a poison because it has been depleted of its life forces, vitamins, and minerals."

"What is left consists of pure, refined carbohydrates. The body cannot utilize this refined starch and carbohydrate unless the depleted proteins, vitamins, and minerals are present. Nature supplies these elements in each plant in quantities sufficient to metabolize the carbohydrate in that particular plant. There is no excess for other added carbohydrates. Incomplete carbohydrate metabolism results in the formation of "toxic metabolite" such as pyruvic acid and abnormal sugars containing 5 carbon atoms. Pyruvic acid accumulated in the brain and nervous system and the abnormal sugars in the red blood cells. These toxic metabolites interfere with the respiration of the cells. They cannot get sufficient oxygen to survive and function normally. In time some of the cells die. This interferes with the function of a part of the body and is the beginning of degenerative disease. With over 50 percent of our diet today composed of these refined carbohydrates [refined sugar, white flour, polished rice, white pasta products, and most breakfast cereals], does it require a million dollars for research to find out why this generation is developing more and more degenerative diseases?" [cell destruction? degenerative disease] (William Dufty, Sugar Blues, P.137-154)