There is an invention of mankind that causes pleasure, but also increases the risk of aging in the human body, is associated with heart disease, stroke, reduces the feeling of satiety, helps develop liver disease, kidney failure and cataracts.
This invention is a food that when consumed can produce headaches and even inflammation, as well as an uncontrolled body weight, and also feeds cancer cells.
Sugar is an invention of mankind. When we were hunters and gatherers, we would find a bee hive and fill our stomachs with honey, which served as a way to survive because insulin quickly converts excess carbohydrates into body fat to survive times of hunger.
Early refining methods consisted of grinding or crushing the cane to extract the juice, and then boiling or drying it in the sun to obtain sugary solids that looked like gravel.
The sugar production process, which goes from extracting sucrose from the plant to refining it, has been perfected over the centuries in widely scattered parts of the globe and involving civilizations on five continents until it has become a product consumed all over the world.
Processed sugar acts in the organism as a drug with a high addictive potential. The more sugar we take, the more we want to take again, and to achieve pleasure we will need to consume more and more of it. This product acts on the human brain, just as alcohol, cigarettes or cocaine do.
The food industry adds so many sugars to its products that it wants us to be hooked. The additions of sugar in foodstuffs encourage the consumption of the food in which it is included. Refined sugar alters brain activity, which means that beyond its calories and taste, sugars can cause addiction-related symptoms.
Refined sugar is capable of improving the qualities of food, which affects consumer satisfaction, since it improves its appearance and taste, but this is more harmful in the medium and long term.
Something I have not mentioned is diabetes, people with diabetes have high blood sugar levels because their body cannot move sugar from the blood to the muscle and fat cells to burn or store it as energy, and/or the liver produces too much glucose and secretes it into the blood.
High consumption of sugars and sugar-containing foods leads to an increase in blood glucose and insulin concentrations, which could more rapidly deplete the insulin reserves of the pancreas and trigger diabetes.
This product (refined sugar), being one of the components of commercial products, causes the body to be commanded to release large amounts of the hormone insulin (manufactured in the pancreas) in order to act fast. If insulin is released in large quantities, regularly and continuously, the cells lose sensitivity to it, so it becomes less efficient. This makes it necessary for the pancreas to generate more and more of the hormone to induce a similar effect, which worsens the function of the organ.
A normal diet without added refined sugars already contains the amount of sugar necessary to function. The rest, the one we add, ends up becoming fat and facilitates the onset of obesity, diabetes or hypertension.
Despite all the warnings, the consumption of refined sugar is unstoppable nowadays, being found in: candies, pastries, cookies, cakes, cakes, sweet breads, donuts, ice cream and yogurt, sauces, soft drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks and juices.
There are alternatives such as honey and sweeteners, which can be used to make cake batter, sauces or syrups, either alone or mixed with milk or vegetable drink, and in salads or casseroles. Another option for sweetening would be dried fruits (almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, and walnuts) or certain spices such as cinnamon or vanilla.
I am a type 2 diabetic and sugar builds up in my blood, so the pancreas releases more insulin. Over time, the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin become damaged and cannot generate enough insulin to meet the body's needs. One of the main factors that caused me to develop this disease was the indiscriminate consumption of processed sugars, so I became insulin-dependent and have to pay for very expensive treatment.
I try to be very careful with the consumption of refined sugar, and in fact I consume very carefully fruits, sweeteners and honey, everything in its right measure, because at the end of the day they also become sugars that can affect my health.
As I have always said, it is an honor and a pleasure to share my ideas with the Hive Learners community, they always make me reflect, to know other points of view different from mine and in many occasions to make catharsis. Best regards to all.