The impact of refined sugar consumption on our health is extremely detrimental. It contributes to weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, and is particularly damaging to our immune response, which is an underlying factor in cancer. Immune function decreases for hours after sugar is consumed. A research study done by Loma Linda University in which participants were fed different forms of sugar found that the effectiveness of white blood cells (our immune cells which fight infection) decreased up to 50% after 1-2 hours of eating sugar, lasting up to five hours. Dr. Linus Pauling, a Nobel Prize winning microbiologist, conducted groundbreaking work related to Vitamin C and the common cold. In this research he found that sugar severely slows down the ability of white blood cells to engulf pathogens, one of our primary defenses against viruses (COVID-19, influenza, colds) and bacteria (Salmonella, E-Coli, Staph infections, bacterial pneumonia). In the last thirty years since Dr Pauling’s work, many scientists have continued on with the premise of his research. Dr. Steve Hickey, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University states: “Glucose (sugar in its simplest form, as found in the blood stream) and vitamin C have a similar chemical structure. So similar, in fact, that when a white blood cell tries to pull in more Vitamin C from the blood, glucose can get substituted by mistake. If the concentration of glucose in the blood goes beyond a certain concentration, the white blood cells high Vitamin C concentration can start to drop because of the large amount of glucose it’s pulling in as a substitute. In fact, at a blood sugar level of 120, the white blood cells ability to absorb and destroy viruses and bacteria is reduced by 75%. This blood sugar level would be easily obtained by any normal person eating some sugar (cake, cookies, candy, soda or even drinking fruit juice). Further, it can take four to six hours for the vitamin C concentration in the white blood cells to reach their optimum 50-times concentration.” Considering one serving of alcohol is equivalent to a serving of dessert, you can include alcohol and refined carbohydrates like white bread, rice and pasta in that food list above. Know also that stress can produce a similar effect to consuming high carb foods. When you are stressed to the max and in fight-or-flight mode, a number of things happen in your body in order to keep you safe from perceived threats. Your body breaks down tissue and muscle in order to provide the energy (glucose) that is stored in those tissues. When that glucose is released, it is dumped into your bloodstream because it assumes that you’re going to use that energy/glucose to fight or flee from the threat. If you don’t use that glucose to do some form of movement (running, fighting), then you’re stuck with an overload of sugar/glucose in your bloodstream and the same result above. Another reason to address your stress levels with lifestyle changes that help you relax and balance your nervous system. Cut back on sugar and refined carbohydrates...your immune system will thank you for it.
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