The cost of eating 'bad' food
As I write today, I am saddened. My sweet dog is in the veterinarian hospital, struggling for life. At 6 years old, it is not expected. She ate a mushroom or something moldy and has mycotoxicosis, and her tremors and seizures are so bad that they don’t expect her to live. Why do animals eat things that are bad for them? Why do we humans eat things that are bad for us? Especially things we KNOW are bad for us? Like sugar.
It is general knowledge that sugar is bad for us, yet we eat it anyway. Sugar is so pervasive in our diets that most people don’t have a clue as to how much they actually consume on a very regular basis. Excess sugar intake has been associated with a variety of health issues, but especially weight gain, diabetes, heart disease and cancer, but also including high blood pressure, stroke, arthritis (osteo and rheumatoid), infertility, gallbladder and liver diseases, respiratory disorders, sleep apnea, insomnia, hyperactivity, fatigue, gout, hypoglycemia, depression, digestive difficulties and other physiological dysfunction.
In a study published in April 2016 the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports that 184,000 deaths occur annually as a result of soda/sugary drinks. This is only sugary drinks and does not factor in other sugary consumables. Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Massachusetts and senior author of the study said that “It should be a global priority to substantially reduce or eliminate sugar-sweetened beverages from the diet.” Sugary beverages have more than just sugar as a culprit in ill health. The phosphoric acid to provide carbonation and the caffeine both contribute to loss of minerals in the bones and have been coined one of the biggest causes of osteoporosis today.
But we can’t just pick on sugary beverages. Sugary “treats” tend to have chemical food colorings, softeners, flavor enhancers, hydrogenated fats and many other ingredients that can have an accumulative negative effect on the health of the consumer.
But what if you are addicted to sugar? What if you can’t control your desire for “sweets”? What about holidays? There are ways to control your sugar cravings and put you back in control over what goes into your mouth and control over adverse blood sugar responses.
It is with heavy heart that I resume this article. Just as I was about to finish, I got the call that my little Shih Tzu had died. Eating the wrong “food” resulted in the loss of her life. 184,000 lives a year are lost drinking a bad “food.” Many, many more people die because of eating food they know (or maybe don’t know) is bad for them. If I can save one life by getting sugar or other substance under control, it will lessen someone’s pain. Yours?
Learn more in our upcoming health class, Conquering Sugar Cravings, Holiday Eating and Sugar Diseases, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, at Vital Health in Coeur d’Alene. Fee: $10. RSVP: (208) 765-1994.
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Holly Carling is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist, Doctor of Naturopathy, Clinical Nutritionist and Master Herbologist with nearly four decades of experience. She is currently accepting new patients and offers natural health care services and whole food nutritional supplements in her Coeur d’Alene clinic. Visit www.vitalhealthcda.com to learn more about her, view a list of upcoming health classes and read other informative articles. Carling can be reached at (208) 765-1994 and would be happy to answer any questions regarding this topic.