Our daily sugar!
Dr. Hildemar Dos Santos
One of the main nutritional concerns today is sugar due to its caloric richness and its addictive capacity. My grandmother, Mrs. Belizia Reis, was "addicted" to sugar. Everything had to be sweetened, and even water was only ingested if it had sugar on it.
Now, with this sugary regime, it is no wonder that she died at the age of 78, suffering from diabetes, obesity, and high levels of triglycerides. In the last two years of her life, she had two strokes that left her trapped in bed for a year. Thus, she developed a deep venous thrombosis on her left leg and died of pulmonary embolism.
She still lived a long life considering other cases of patients that I have observed. Her secret was physical activity; she never stopped being active! Grandma had a vegetable garden, a small fruit orchard, and a chicken coop. She was also a sewer. But her sewing machine was not electric; it was the one with a pedal (ask your grandmother, and she will be able to explain it better). Her weak point, however, was sugar.
If we compare grandma Belizia's age with that of her daughter, my mother, Antonieta Reis dos Santos, we will see a big difference. Mom didn't eat too much sugar and always had a more balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, and she was vegetarian for many years. Today she is still alive at 97 and a half years old and has always been in good health. She is weak and in need of care at her old age, but she has none of the complications that her mother had.
The main problem with sugar is weight gain. Today there are more than a billion people in the world with excessive weight, and it seems that the situation is getting worse. As countries develop and move from agricultural to the industrial stage, they adopt modern technologies, and food is transformed. Fast or junk food like sugar, fat, and refined carbs become the food for the multitudes an overweight is the ultimate product. Or not!
Excess weight increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and cancer. Most cancers in women are related to obesity and why not say sugar, such as cancer of the ovary, uterus, and breast. And other cancers, like kidneys, gallbladder, pancreas, intestine, brain, thyroid, stomach, esophagus, liver, and multiple myeloma are also related to weight gain. (cdc.gov/media/releases/2017)
Also, obesity is related to asthma, arthritis (osteoarthritis), low back pain, gallstones, sleep apnea, low self-esteem, depression, and suicide. As obesity increases the risk of diabetes, it indirectly increases the risk of blindness, amputations, polyneuropathies, and renal failure. Because of the increase in lipids and blood clotting factors, obesity increases the risk of circulatory problems, especially deep vein thrombosis, increasing the risk of pulmonary embolism (which was the cause of death for Grandma Belizia).
All of this because of sugar. So we can conclude that it is not worth satisfying our sweet tooth and then paying a high price later in terms of health. If your problem is sugar, you better start eliminating it. The simplest secret is to use more fruits, but not juices. Most studies in this area have concluded that juices can also increase weight. Other sweeteners like honey, molasses, brown sugar, agave, etc., also have high levels of calories. On the other hand, artificial sweeteners have fewer calories, but they can have other health effects not yet well determined. Stevia is an exception because it is a natural plant so that it can be used without a problem, but many do not appreciate its taste.
Fruits, fruits, and fruits are the best substitutes for sugar! Is fruit fattening? I don't believe because fruits, in general, have a lot of fiber and other elements such as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that can activate the metabolism. In any case, the diet must be balanced. Just because fruits are better than sugar does not mean that we can overdo their intake. When I was young, my favorite fruit was orange. One day I ate more than twenty oranges at once and had an allergic reaction with general swelling of the eyes, mouth, face, and lumps all over the body.
Less sugar and more fruit for a healthier and longer life!
"Eating too much honey is not good, nor is it honorable to seek one's own honor." Proverbs 25:27 NIV
For more health messages like this, visit the blog "drdossantos.weebly.com."
For clean humor, read the book "Laugh Your Illness Away" at amazon.com.
For healthy videos, go to YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmT7jGB4D_AttCmOhdpx9kQ
Dr. Hildemar Dos Santos
One of the main nutritional concerns today is sugar due to its caloric richness and its addictive capacity. My grandmother, Mrs. Belizia Reis, was "addicted" to sugar. Everything had to be sweetened, and even water was only ingested if it had sugar on it.
Now, with this sugary regime, it is no wonder that she died at the age of 78, suffering from diabetes, obesity, and high levels of triglycerides. In the last two years of her life, she had two strokes that left her trapped in bed for a year. Thus, she developed a deep venous thrombosis on her left leg and died of pulmonary embolism.
She still lived a long life considering other cases of patients that I have observed. Her secret was physical activity; she never stopped being active! Grandma had a vegetable garden, a small fruit orchard, and a chicken coop. She was also a sewer. But her sewing machine was not electric; it was the one with a pedal (ask your grandmother, and she will be able to explain it better). Her weak point, however, was sugar.
If we compare grandma Belizia's age with that of her daughter, my mother, Antonieta Reis dos Santos, we will see a big difference. Mom didn't eat too much sugar and always had a more balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, and she was vegetarian for many years. Today she is still alive at 97 and a half years old and has always been in good health. She is weak and in need of care at her old age, but she has none of the complications that her mother had.
The main problem with sugar is weight gain. Today there are more than a billion people in the world with excessive weight, and it seems that the situation is getting worse. As countries develop and move from agricultural to the industrial stage, they adopt modern technologies, and food is transformed. Fast or junk food like sugar, fat, and refined carbs become the food for the multitudes an overweight is the ultimate product. Or not!
Excess weight increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and cancer. Most cancers in women are related to obesity and why not say sugar, such as cancer of the ovary, uterus, and breast. And other cancers, like kidneys, gallbladder, pancreas, intestine, brain, thyroid, stomach, esophagus, liver, and multiple myeloma are also related to weight gain. (cdc.gov/media/releases/2017)
Also, obesity is related to asthma, arthritis (osteoarthritis), low back pain, gallstones, sleep apnea, low self-esteem, depression, and suicide. As obesity increases the risk of diabetes, it indirectly increases the risk of blindness, amputations, polyneuropathies, and renal failure. Because of the increase in lipids and blood clotting factors, obesity increases the risk of circulatory problems, especially deep vein thrombosis, increasing the risk of pulmonary embolism (which was the cause of death for Grandma Belizia).
All of this because of sugar. So we can conclude that it is not worth satisfying our sweet tooth and then paying a high price later in terms of health. If your problem is sugar, you better start eliminating it. The simplest secret is to use more fruits, but not juices. Most studies in this area have concluded that juices can also increase weight. Other sweeteners like honey, molasses, brown sugar, agave, etc., also have high levels of calories. On the other hand, artificial sweeteners have fewer calories, but they can have other health effects not yet well determined. Stevia is an exception because it is a natural plant so that it can be used without a problem, but many do not appreciate its taste.
Fruits, fruits, and fruits are the best substitutes for sugar! Is fruit fattening? I don't believe because fruits, in general, have a lot of fiber and other elements such as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that can activate the metabolism. In any case, the diet must be balanced. Just because fruits are better than sugar does not mean that we can overdo their intake. When I was young, my favorite fruit was orange. One day I ate more than twenty oranges at once and had an allergic reaction with general swelling of the eyes, mouth, face, and lumps all over the body.
Less sugar and more fruit for a healthier and longer life!
"Eating too much honey is not good, nor is it honorable to seek one's own honor." Proverbs 25:27 NIV
For more health messages like this, visit the blog "drdossantos.weebly.com."
For clean humor, read the book "Laugh Your Illness Away" at amazon.com.
For healthy videos, go to YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmT7jGB4D_AttCmOhdpx9kQ