Sugar – By Any Other Name

Have you ever heard of  “The Honey Principle”.  It is a very simple principle that teaches us about being temperate or moderate. 

The Bible has the following to say about honey:

• Prov. 24 :13               “My son, eat thou honey, because it is good.”
• Prov. 25 : 16              “Has thou found honey? Eat so much as is sufficient for thee.”
• Prov. 25 : 27              “It is not good to eat much honey”

What it means is, although Honey is good, eat only what is sufficient or necessary. It is not good to eat too much.

This principle holds true for almost everything regardless of how good, powerful and beneficial it is. Too much of some ingredients, foods, herbs and nutrients will cause the same symptoms as too little.  An excess of sugar can raise blood pressure the same as too much salt and sugar reduces the effectiveness of the White Blood cells of your immune system. So what about Natural sugars?

Natural means “as God has made it”

Sugars are a type of Carbohydrate (important source of energy) which can be divided into three categories :

1. Simple Sugars – Monosaccharides. Simplest form and cannot be further broken down. 12 atoms Hydrogen, 6 atoms Carbon, 6 atoms Oxygen (Glucose, Dextrose and Grape Sugar)
2. Double Sugars – Disaccharides
3. Starches & Fibers –  Polysaccharides (including bread and potatoes)

Natural Sugars are not the same as those which are processed and packaged in foods. Vitamins and essential trace minerals are necessary to metabolize the sugar and move it from the blood to the cell. One such mineral is Chromium. In addition to insulin, Chromium is required to move the blood sugar to the cells. In the manufacture of sugar from sugar cane, chromium which is naturally in the sugar cane is lost.

Let us examine the list of sweeteners on the market today.

Sugar	Names	Notes
Acesulfame-K	Sunette Sweet One	200 x sweeter than sugar. Does not metabolize hence no calories. Tumors in rats (CSPI) Chewing gum, tea, instant coffee, dry beverage mixes, gelatin, non-dairy creamers. Made from acetoacetic acid.
Aspartame	EQUAL, NUTRASWEET	Approved 1981, believed to cause many health problems from headaches, & dizziness to seizures. Made from aspartic acid, amino acids, phenylalanine. Looses sweetness when cooked. Do not use if you have phenylketonuria, pregnant or lactating. Do not give to children.
Barley Malt		Very good for those on diets and suffering from diabetes or hypoglycemia. Highly concentrated, a dash replaces two teaspoons of sugar.
Brown Rice Syrup		Extracted from brown rice. Good for those with diabetes.
Fructose (Levulose)	Corn Fructose, high fructose, fruit fructose, fruit sugar, invert sugar syrup.	Monosaccharide found in fruit and honey (not grapes). May aggravate high blood levels of triglycerides.
Glucose	Grape sugar, dextrose, corn syrup, corn sweetener, glucose syrup.	Monosaccharide which occurs naturally in the body and is required for brain function. Digestion  breaks down complex carbohydrates and starches in greens, vegetables and fruits. sometimes derived from protein and fat breakdown. When not properly digested can cause blood sugar to rise quickly.
Honey		Predigested food made of Glucose, Fructose and water.
Lactose		Disaccharide found in milk. 80% of the adult population do not have the enzyme needed to digest lactose.
Maltose		Disaccharide made from starch. Found naturally in germinating seeds, also in malted syrup, maltodextrin, dextrin, and dextrose. In breaking down starch to a single sugar it passes through two other states, dextrin & maltose.
Saccharin	Sweet’N’Low, Sprinkle Sweet, Twin, Sweet10	Chemical similar to Acesulfame-K. 1 Century old. Comes from petroleum. 300 x sweetener than sugar, non-caloric. Linked to tumors in rats, it was saved by “PUBLIC DEMAND”. FDA requires all products to be labeled. Does not taste good when used in baking and leaves a bitter after taste. It’s safety for human consumption is under review. Do not give to children. Do not use if pregnant or lactating.
Sucanat		Evaporated cane juice. Organically grown sugar cane. Juice contains all the natural ingredients of sugar cane.
Sorbitol, Mannitol, Xylitol		Naturally occurring sugar alcohols. They can cause diarrhea, can be used by individuals with a blood sugar sensitivity.
Sorghum		Sorghum molasses and whey (many people have trouble digesting lactose).
Sucrose	Cane, Sucrose, Beet, unrefined, raw, turbinado, confectioner’s and powdered sugar.	Disaccharide containing equal parts of fructose and glucose. Produced from sugar cane or sugar beets

Substitute sweeteners –

Barley Malt, Rice Syrup, Barley Syrup, Blackstrap Molasses (Rich in iron and minerals. Lacks none of the essential nutrients of other sugar forms), Herbal Sweeteners, Dates

• Refined sugars are missing nutrients and fiber which causes a problem in it’s metabolism.

• The Journal of Reproductive Medicine, 1984 reported a study which found that the intake of sugar, dairy, and artificial sweeteners co-related positively with the incidence of Candida Vulvovaginitis.  When the diet omitted those elements more than 90% of the patients were found to be free of yeast infections for over a year.

• The liver can only store about 150 grams of glycogen (derived from sugar). The excess becomes fat globules also known as “a spare tire”, “heave thighs” and a “flabby forearm”.

• As little as two teaspoons of sugar will change the blood chemistry disturbing homeostasis or balance of  e.g. may increase calcium and decrease phosphorus.

• A white blood cell can destroy 14 bacteria in 3 seconds. 32 teaspoons (2 cans of pop) will reduce its effectiveness to 5 bacteria in 3 seconds therefore reducing immune system function.

• One drawback of sugar is that by raising the level of insulin, it inhibits the release of growth hormones which in turn depresses the immune function.

• Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Centre found in tests performed on animals that sugar (table sugar) was just as likely as salt to produce a dangerous increase in blood pressure.

 

October 1996, Curt de Gourville, Lifestyle Counselor