If you are like me, you have at some point probably felt that your body hates you.  You may have wondered why you don’t feel well and why you can’t lose weight.  Do you suffer from any of the following signs or symptoms?

• Fatigue (especially around 2-3 pm)
• Pain and body aches
• Nerve pain
• Muscle fatigue
• Cravings (salt or sugar)
• Abdominal weight gain
• Obesity
• Strong hunger signs (irritability, light-headed)
• Bloating or indigestion
• Anxiety or mood swings
• Insomnia
• Foggy-headed, cognitive problems
• Poor concentration
• Headaches and/or migraines
• Thyroid dysfunction
• Hemoglobin A1C (HgA1c) over 5.4%
• Polycystic ovarian syndrome
• Increased blood triglycerides/cholesterol

If you checked off the majority of these signs and symptoms, then you could have dysglycemia, or blood sugar dysregulation that can eventually lead to disease.  Due to our modern carbohydrate-loaded diets, our cells are becoming insulin-resistant, and this can lead to weight gain and even diabesity.  This condition doesn’t just affect people with weight issues, but it can also affect athletes, vegans/vegetarians, irregular eaters and meal skippers, food addicts, and those with eating disorders.

A FEW STATISTICS:

• Eating sugar or carbohydrates causes the pancreas to release insulin. During the time insulin is circulating in our bloodstream, it is impossible to burn fat!
• The #7 leading cause of preventable deaths in the US is Diabetes.
• The #1 leading cause of deaths in the US is Heart Disease, which has modifiable risk factors including:
  • Tobacco use
  • High blood pressure
  • High cholesterol
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Poor diet
  • Overweight
  • Lack of physical activity

• The US has the highest prevalence of Diabetes AND Adult Obesity in the world. When we examine the diets of countries with the lowest rate of disease, we notice that our diets lack some basic nutrients needed to keep our body functioning well. In addition, we are consuming high quantities of two unhealthy ingredients:  SUGAR and WHITE FLOUR.  These foods deplete our bodies of magnesium, B vitamins, and other essential nutrients.

Why is constantly flooding our body with sugar such a major problem?

We promoted consuming sugar in the 1950s (see these ads)

We got fat and freaked out that eating fats was making us fat in the 1980s

Then we switched to low fat & fat-free foods, with high sugar content

As a result, our bodies & brains are starved of healthy fats and flooded with sugar

Result: Obesity, diabetes, inflammation and pain, high cholesterol, hormone imbalances

What else do the resulting blood sugar issues negatively affect, leading to disease and/or early death?

• Adrenal Function
• Thyroid Function
• Hormone Balance
• Gut Health
• Cardiovascular and Lipid/Cholesterol levels
• Liver Function
• Fatty Acid Metabolism

“Candy; all white sugar or its product; and white flour, including its products such as macaroni, spaghetti, crackers, etc, should be absolutely barred from the diet of the child. All these energy-producing foods that contain no building materials for the body.” Royal Lee, 1933

It sounds like a bunch of bad news, right?  There is help for us!

What are healthy cultures eating that we should go back to eating? 

• Cod liver oil or tuna oil – DHA, EPA, vitamins A & D, Omega-3 (the brain is 50% fat!)
• Grass-fed butter, Coconut oil, lard (healthy saturated fats)
• Kidney (excellent source of vitamin A/retinol, ribonucleic acids)
• Liver (excellent source of B vitamins, zinc, vitamin A, ribonucleic acids)
• Fermented foods (sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, etc)
• Bones/marrow broth (excellent source of collagen for leaky gut support, joint/muscles, etc.)

If you are like most people, getting the above foods into our diet on a daily basis can be difficult – especially on our palate!  The good news is that organic whole food supplements allow us to get the nutrients we are lacking, and combat the negative effects of our modern diet in North America.  With supplements, you can either “take it, or eat it.”  It’s food, not pills.

After extensive research, I selected Standard Process whole food supplements as an important building block in a healthier diet, and devised a six-step plan to help people feel better and get healthier.  By following that program, you will create new habits that will help you form a healthy foundation for years to come.

Click here for Part II:  Diabesity – The Steps to a Healthier and Happier YOU, where I discuss what we can do to stop this vicious cycle of poisoning our body.

Erin West is a Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine and licensed acupuncturist in Gilbert, Arizona specializing in pain and infertility. She loves sharing her passion for natural approaches to health through her online articles and at her clinic, Mend Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine, at Sage Health Point on Lindsay Road. Call for an appointment at 480-788-1757.

Resources for more information:

Book:  The Blood Sugar Solution by Dr. Mark Hyman

Book:  The Case Against Sugar by Gary Taubman

Book:  Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubman

Article:  Is Sugar Toxic, What If It’s All Been A Big Fat Lie: Big Sugar’s Sweet Little Lies by Gary Taubes

Article:  Sugar Industry Lies About Fat and Heart Disease by Paula Widish

Article:  124 Ways Sugar Ruins Your Health by Dr. Nancy Appleton

Video:  Sugar, the Bitter Truth by Dr. Robert Lustig

Citations:

Image 1:  http://time.com/4088772/sugar-information-history/.  August 14, 1964.

Image 2:  http://time.com/4088772/sugar-information-history/.  May 10, 1971.