Most people know that sugar is not a health food, yet many downplay the impact that refined sugars could have on health. A recent study reports that sugar may indeed be a much bigger threat and in fact causes metabolic diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease and weight gain.
Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist in San Francisco and author of the book, Fat Chance: The Hidden Truth About Sugar, followed 43 obese children in his care and watched their health dramatically improve when sugar was removed from their diet. He reported that within 10 days their metabolic disease was reversed. Lustig achieved these results by replacing sugar with potato chips and keeping calorie consumption the same. Imagine the results if sugar is placed with whole foods!
Study replaced refined sugars with some of America’s favorite junk foods and found that children’s metabolic disease was reversed in 10 days!
The study included children ages nine to eighteen who were referred to the hospital because of weight and health related issues. They were then given nine days of food prepared for them by the clinic and weighed themselves daily. The meals they received reduced their sugar from 28 percent to 10 percent. Fructose was reduced from 12 percent to 4 percent. The sugary food was replaced by some of America’s favorite junk food, turkey, hot dogs, potato chips and pizza.After nine days of reduced sugar and increased processed junk food, they found that the children’s metabolic health improved, their LDL cholesterol and triglycerides dropped and fasting blood glucose levels and insulin levels were cut by one-third. The children’s liver function tests also showed improvement.
Numerous studies show that replacing refined sugars, processed foods and meat with a plant-based diet decreases risk of metabolic disease!
Some are skeptical in regards to this study, and most research would not recommend replacing sugar with processed junk food. If you are concerned about the health of yourself or your child, consider removing processed foods and refined sugars and replacing them with the plant-based diet.Several studies are showing the positive impacts of eating a plant based diet. One large European study found that those who eat a diet high in meat and low in plant foods had more than a 50 percent increased risk of developing diabetes in comparison to those who ate large amount of fruits and vegetables.
he Wellness Institute reported that by increasing red meat consumption by 1 oz per day increased risk of Type 2 diabetes by nearly 50 percent!
Another study from Taiwan found that women and men who avoided all meat were less likely to have diabetes. The study found that women were 30 percent less likely and men 50 percent less likely to have Type 2 diabetes.
Consider limiting meat, refined sugars, and processed foods in your home and assess how you and your family feel. You may be surprised to see the difference! If you or your children are suffering from metabolic disorders and currently on medication, work with a trusted practitioner in order to assess medical improvement.
