Do you know that there are 4 grams of sugar in every teaspoon of sugar? You might ask "So why is this important?" There are significant scientific studies written in many medical journals that show sugar can ruin your health.  Many of us understand the connection between sugar and weight gain but few know the connection to mineral loss or the changes that happen to our blood chemistry or to our ability to digest food and produce the proper enzymes.

Some of the signs of sugar problems include: feeling sleepy after meals, allergies, gas, bloating, extended stomach, joint pain, headaches, chronic fatigue, constipation, diarrhea, excess weight, skin problems and high blood pressure.

In order to understand why it is important to limit or even eliminate sugar from your diet, you must first understand how sugar is processed in the body.  The human species originally ate high fiber foods with nutrients that contained natural sugars in very limited amounts.  But our diet today is saturated with processed foods high in fats and sugar.  Did you know that even some packaged hot dogs and meat slices contain sugar? Our poor digestive system cannot handle our standard diet.  This is often referred to as the "SAD Diet" Standard American Diet.  And SAD it is!

Researchers now know what happens to the minerals in our bodies when sugar and processed or fried foods are ingested in more than moderate amounts.  The minerals in our body depend on a process called homeostasis in our blood to remain in balance.  Minerals can only work in relation to each other. Calcium increases and phosphorous decreases when we consume too much sugar upsetting their optimal ratio or their relationship to one another.  When calcium increases beyond the ratio it becomes toxic and can cause any number of ailments including but not limited to: plaque on the teeth, kidney stones, arthritis, cataracts, bone spurs, hardening of the arteries, gallbladder stones, cataracts and bone spurs.

Are you still saying "so what, who cares?" When these mineral levels decrease dramatically we do not produce sufficient enzymes to digest our foods properly.  This is because enzymes are depended on minerals in our body to work efficiently. When the enzyme process breaks down partially digested food can get directly into our bloodstream where it is treated as an invader. Some doctors have called this "leaky gut syndrome". This in turn forces the immune system to respond resulting in respiratory ailments and inflammation.

In short, too much sugar weakens our whole body in significant ways, and exhausts our immune system.  These factors add to our inability to lose weight. It is a never ending cycle. Even though we may feel we are dieting, we are actually still consuming foods with sugar, in many of its different forms. Check your packaging anything ending is "ose" is a good bet for sugar, like glucose, fructose etc. The way to support your body to lose weight is to eat natural foods, drink little or no caffeine and stay away from processed refined additive heavy foods.

 by Sherry Fields

Technorati Tags: lose weight, losing belly fat, sugar and weight loss