Introduction
We have spent several installments discussing just how destructive dietary sugar is to our health. When I read and listen to talks from several different and knowledgeable experts in this field, their conclusions are essentially saying the same thing: sugar is detrimental to good metabolic health.
Dr. Robert Lustig (the endocrinologist from the University of California at San Francisco) states in a recent talk that sugar has been proven beyond any shadow of doubt to cause four medical problems:
- Obesity
- Type 2 diabetes
- Dental decay
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Yes, I should know. I have experienced excessive weight gain and too many dental cavities in my previous life. Hopefully, I have been spared the other two.
Dr. Lustig also asserts that there is very strong correlational evidence that suggests that sugar consumption plays a major role is other degenerative diseases such as
- Heart disease
- Hypertension
- Strokes
- Cancer
Gary Taubes, a scientific journalist, states in his YouTube video, The Case Against Sugar,
that obesity, type two diabetes, strokes, heart disease, and cancer are all a subset of insulin resistance. Consuming excessive, refined carbohydrates, sugar and high fructose corn syrup in particular, over several decades invariably leads to insulin resistance.
There are many other doctors, authors, medical researchers, and honest YouTubers that are documenting just how destructive sugar is to our well-being. Dr. Lustig describes high fructose corn syrup as a “poison.”
It’s kind of like arsenic. One dose doesn’t kill you. It’s the cumulative effect.
Chapter 6: Metabolic Syndrome
Dr. Fife describes a newly identified deadly disease plaguing the world. It’s called Metabolic Syndrome. Heart attacks and strokes are just two of the end results of this condition.
He continues by explaining that you won’t see “metabolic syndrome” listed as a cause of death on a death certificate. It may be listed as a “risk factor,” but it’s not listed as a cause.
Metabolic syndrome is defined as association between a cluster of five metabolic disorders that commonly occur together, and which greatly increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and other chronic degenerative diseases.
Dr. Fife lists the following as signs of metabolic syndrome.
- High fasting blood glucose
- Abdominal obesity
- High blood triglycerides
- Low HDL Cholesterol
- High blood pressure
Metabolic syndrome is an indication of a body seriously out of whack, chemically, hormonally, and metabolically. It is associated with low-grade inflammation and oxidative stress. Dr. Fife then lists 35 diseases that are associated with metabolic syndrome. See pages 105-106 for the complete list. Among these 35 diseases are:
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Coronary artery disease
- Diabetes
- Glaucoma and macular degeneration
- Inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease
- Kidney disease
- Obesity
- Sleep apnea
- Some forms of cancer
Dr. Fife states that a person with metabolic syndrome is at a greatly increased risk of developing any combination of these various 35 metabolic disorders.
For example, the diabetic may also suffer from Alzheimer’s, have vison problems, have hormonal imbalances, and die from heart disease.
Dr. Fife states several factors that contribute to metabolic syndrome:
- Physical inactivity
- Aging
- Exposure to environmental toxins
- Medications (think prescription drugs) and recreational drug usage
- Smoking
- Genetics
- And most important, DIET
Of course, by diet, he’s referring the overconsumption of refined carbohydrates and a deficiency of good quality fats, protein, and fresh produce. He stresses that the conditions of metabolic syndrome can be improved by replacing the refined carbs in one’s diet with healthy fats and whole foods.
The following is one if his key points in this chapter:
He describes a study that shows that refined carbohydrate restriction is the single most effective intervention for reducing all the features of the syndrome and should be the first approach in managing heart disease and diabetes. A side benefit is weight loss.
My Comment: Yep, quit the sugar. How many doctors hammer this point home?
Dr. Fife makes a nice summation of this section:
It appears that excessive consumption of sugar and refined starch, not fat or saturated fat, is at the heart of most every chronic degenerative disease that troubles our society. It is no wonder why the sugar industry has worked so hard to distract the facts and confuse the medical community and the general public about its dangers. If you want to age prematurely and suffer the last half of your life with a chronic disease, it appears that consuming a high-sugar diet is the fastest way to get there.
My Comments: Some long-time clients of mine referred me to some friends of theirs, Bob and Sue, fictitious names of course. I called and briefly spoke with Sue.
Sue gave me a rundown of their current situation. They are in their eighties, and both are diabetics. They’re also taking several prescriptions.
Sue expressed concern that her Medicare advantage plan was going to cease covering the very expensive Ozempic. She came across like she was at her wits end.
Assuming, of course, that they were eating the SAD way (standard American diet) I emailed her a link to the Quit Sugar Summit which is found at quitsugarsummit.com. She promptly emailed me back and said, “We’re too old to make any diet changes.”
This situation is a real tragedy. They’re faced with degenerative diseases and costly prescription copays. But rather than doing something about it, they’d rather continue their refined carbohydrate diet, take the pills and injections that their doctor prescribes, and then complain about the cost of their prescriptions.
In all likelihood, they’re addicted to the drug called sugar, and like most addicts, they don’t want to quit. Instead, they would rather continue their addiction and have their doctor deal with the aftermath.
One YouTuber doctor called out sugar addiction for what it is: substance abuse. He was spot on.
Continuing:
Insulin Resistance
Insulin Resistance is an essential underlying feature of metabolic syndrome. As insulin resistance begins to develop, fasting blood levels rise consistently above 90 mg/dl. When the number surpasses 100, insulin resistance is advanced and one of the markers for metabolic syndrome. This is now the start or either pre-diabetes or just diabetes.
Full-blown diabetes is diagnosed when fasting blood sugar reaches 129mg/dl or greater; at this stage insulin resistance is severe and health risks become very serious. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to a myriad of complications such as mental deterioration, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, blindness, nerve damage, digestive troubles, gum disease, and many other disorders.
Dr. Fife hammers again on the central theme of his writing: The above conditions are all caused by the excessive consumption of sugar and refined carbohydrates and the lack of other, more nutritious foods.
The overconsumption of these refined carbohydrates spikes your blood sugar levels. That, in turn, ramps up your production of insulin. Over time, this constant high demand for insulin takes its toll on your pancreas, and it begins to wear out, and insulin production declines.
For more learning about insulin resistance, please watch these videos:
1) What is insulin resistance? A Mayo Clinic expert explains (5:54)
2) Understanding Blood Sugar Levels, INSULIN RESISTANCE & Impact on Chronic Diseases
3) How to Avoid Insulin Resistance and Why it’s Important | Dr. Robert Lustig & Dr. Dom D’Agostino (1:17:17) This video runs more than hour and is somewhat technical as it’s a discussion between two medical doctors. However, it gets to the heart of the problem.
Among others, here is a key quote that begins @ 43:04.
Dr. Robert Lustig:
Here’s the problem. We have this thing. It’s called the American Diabetes Association [ADA], and I’m not a fan (he chuckles and laughs) to say the least. The reason I’m not a fan are two-fold.
The first is that they state, categorically, that diabetes is a chronic, degenerative, unremitting, chronic metabolic disease with no treatment and no cure. That’s what they say. Go to their website. That’s what they say. None of those things are true. (My emphasis)
…..I’ve proven it. The fact of the matter if that type 2 diabetes is eminently reversible. You have to fix the diet, but they don’t say anything about the diet.
What they said was give all the carbs you want but just give enough insulin to cover it, which is also not true.
There are many other terrific videos about insulin resistance, but these three are a good start.
My Comments: One of the guys in a coffee group I attend is Bill (fictitious). He is diabetic and very overweight. At one meeting he went to the coffee bar and picked up a doughnut-type pastry. Somehow in our discussion he mentioned, or maybe I saw the patch on his arm, that he wears a continuous glucose monitor (CGM).
He proudly showed me the CGM app on his phone. The graph showed that his blood sugar spiked up to around 195 (195…yikes!) upon eating the doughnut, but now it was falling. He thought everything was okay and working. His normal was way above 130! He’s a victim of the American Diabetes Association.
I told him about the Quit Sugar Summit.
As a former sugar addict, I can tell you that the only way to beat sugar addiction is to get off the sugary junk, fake foods. You can’t be a recovering alcoholic and fooling yourself by saying, “I’ll only have one beer a day. Folks, it just doesn’t work that way.
Continued next issue.