A Sugar Binge Costs How Much!?

by Deborah English — November 27, 2007

Refined sugar contains no vitamins, minerals, fiber, proteins, or enzymes. It is simply empty calories likely to expand your waistline. But the story does not end there. To metabolize sugar, your body is forced to use its resources of vital nutrients. What I'm saying is that eating refined sugar actually robs your body of--wait for it--calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, vitamins, and enzymes! Pretty scary stuff. But if you are healthy, an isolated sugar binge isn't going to send you to the hospital. However, what are the repercussions of serial sugar binging?

It doesn't take long for regular sugar binging to result in a deficit of nutrients normally used for cell and tissue repair and sustenance for organs and blood vessels. So what happens when your body doesn't have sufficient nutrients to metabolize refined sugar properly? You're in trouble.

The sugar is poison now. It accumulates throughout your brain and nervous system. Your brain is super-sensitive to even minimal chemical changes in your body, and the sugar overload can cause general confusion, short-term memory loss, and depression. Your blood becomes thick and sticky, inhibiting blood flow to the tiny capillaries that supply your gums and teeth with nutrients; leading to gum disease and starving teeth. As well, your extremities are deprived of nutrients and oxygen. This can result in multiple health problems, from Raynards disease to serious Diabetes complications. Meanwhile your pancreas is working overtime, shooting insulin into your blood stream trying to balance your glucose levels. Sometimes your pancreas over-compensates for the sudden sugar surge by releasing too much insulin, resulting in hypoglycemia. And yes, a diet high in sugar is unarguably linked to Type-2 Diabetes. This happens when your exhausted pancreas basically "gives up the ghost," failing to produce sufficient insulin, resulting in dangerously high blood glucose levels.

So next time you reach for a Mars Bar, pause for a moment and think about it. The result could be more than just an extra notch on your belt.