Where and how does one of the most prolific medical scourges of the 21st century begin? Let's start at the table. Whether that be at home, work or your favorite restaurant what we put on it can sometimes be the beginning of the end. Our sugar laden, artificial and bleached foods combined with an abundance of alcoholic drinks, prescriptions and over the counter medications has helped to establish what is and continues to be a tragic epidemic on a global scale.
Artificial Sweeteners - The Zero Calorie Killer
Along with diabetes artificial sweeteners are linked to other adverse health conditions including weight gain. It is one of the most insidious food additives on the market today. The sweeteners cause spikes in blood insulin levels. How is this possible? The body is wired to prepare for the introduction of carbohydrates since carbs are the chief and most energy efficient forms of fuel. When artificial sweeteners wash over the tongue the brain signals the body to prepare for sugar intake. But this is no normal preparation. Consider the fact that artificial sweeteners are up to 300% sweeter than regular sugar. The body thinks it is getting tons of it which drives insulin production sky high. The cells in the body continuously seeing insulin in the bloodstream for seemingly no reason begin to build a sensitivity towards it thus the term insulin sensitivity. This is not the only way cells become sensitive to insulin but it is one of the main reasons. To add insult to injury what blood sugar is in circulation gets swept up by the excess insulin driving blood sugar levels low. The low blood sugar levels are detected by the body and triggers the production of a hormone called ghrelin. This hormone makes us feel hungry and usually we will eat. The weight gain trap is sprung as most people will alternate between artificially sweetened products (especially soda) and eating highly processed foods mostly unaware of the weight gain connection. Zero calorie foods tend to make people consume more calories of other foods and that is a killer both figuratively and literally.
These diabetes inducing sweeteners can be found in almost anything like: prescription medication, cough syrup, aspirin and other over-the-counter drugs, chewing gum, anything labeled 'sugar free', and drink powders to name a few.
Highly Processed Foods and Our Love Affair with Bleach
Walk down the aisle almost any grocery store and pick up a prepackaged item containing wheat. These would be your breads, cereals, cookies and pastas. Read the list of ingredients on the back. If it is not organic some of the first words you will see are bleached or enriched. This is code for 'we have stripped the goodness out of this product and added what we think you would like to taste'. Why would anyone do this? To make us eat more and eat more often. Bleached and enriched foods undergo chemical processes that converts them from complex carbohydrates (good) to simple carbohydrates (really bad). Once this happens the producer of that food experiences an increase in profit because you will eat more of it and you will eat it more often. As their profits increase so does our waist lines and risk of diabetes. I am sure that there will be some who read this and decide this is a conspiratorial view but consider the chart from the previous article. As food distribution around the world increases (usually simple carbs) so too does the incidence of diabetes.
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS): Americans consume an astounding 60 lbs. of HFCS every year. What's so astounding about this? Consider the fact that fructose is metabolized in the liver into fat more readily than glucose. When bombarded with fructose all at once the liver becomes sluggish and fatty itself. Fatty livers usually precedes insulin resistance which can ultimately lead to the development and persistence of Type II diabetes. The reason Americans can consume 60 lbs. of HFCS on average is because it is found in many processed foods and is often one of the first three ingredients in a product. Some of the products include soft drinks, pancake syrup, yogurt, canned fruits, barbecue sauce, pasta sauce and fruit drinks that are not 100% juice just to name a few. HFCS is a metabolic nightmare that many of us are unaware of including diabetics. Are you or do you know someone who is diabetic or pre-diabetic? Have you or they ever been warned to stay away from HFCS? If not, please consider this a warning.
