Sugar is something that is a regular part of many people's diets in almost every meal. From cereal or donuts in the morning, to sweetener in coffee, to candy bars, to desserts, white processed sugar is everywhere. It can be disguised as sucrose, high fructose corn syrup, or any ingredient ending in -OSE.

If sugar is found in a whole food, let's say an apple, the fiber in the apple pushes the sugar along the digestive tract and a little bit is absorbed at a time. The body can handle a little sugar and convert it to glucose, which the body uses as energy. If the cells have enough glucose the liver turns the glucose into glycogen which is then stored for use later when the body needs glucose, but does not have enough circulation in the blood. The body simply releases the stored glycogen and turns it back into glucose. If all the places the body stores glycogen are filled up, the liver converts it into Triglycerides. These are then sent out to be stored as fat.

Just because a food is low in fat does not mean it will not make you fat. Sugar is a great way to put on extra pounds. Studies have shown that sugar will weaken your immune system. It is also a mild acid and when acid gets in the body, the body must neutralize it. The body uses calcium as a

neutralizing agent. It is now being shown through numerous studies that most people do not need more calcium in their diets, they need less acid so that they will not keep losing the calcium that they already have. (By the way, all of the big seven - alcohol, sugar, artificial sweeteners, coffee,

soda, dairy and meat - are acid forming).

Artificial sweeteners are probably the worst of all the big seven. There are mounds of books, papers, and testimonials showing the dangers of aspartame, as well as other artificial sweeteners. However, we will just highlight aspartame for now. Aspartame often is the cause of headaches ranging from mild to debilitating. In my practice, I see this at least several times a week. There are testimonials of people attempting suicide (and sometimes succeeding) in an attempt to rid themselves of the pain. I had one patient who had seizures after just one stick of sugar-free, aspartame-containing gum. It can also effect your seratonin levels, which is a chemical in your brain that helps regulate mood swings and hunger. By eating low or zero-calorie food with aspartame you may actually gain weight by eating more because you are hungrier. There is also strong evidence that it can cause brain tumors, depression, and even mimic multiple sclerosis symptoms, which can lead to misdiagnosis and improper treatment. I can go on and on about the dangers of aspartame, but the bottom line is avoid it at all costs.

--- (c) Dr. Joe Esposito

For more information on health and nutrition, be sure to visit Dr. Joe's