Sugar: The Enemy

Once again, Dr. Mercola has a few thoughtful words to say on a subject near and dear to my heart: the damaging effects of simple sugars.

Limiting glucose (sugar) in your diet is a well-known key to longevity. In a study on worms, cutting down on this one element increased their lifespan the equivalent of 15 human years, which is a major improvement.

If you avoid glucose in your diet, does this mean that you’ll live for another 15 years? It’s impossible to say, but what I can say is that you may very likely live quite a bit longer.

Your blood glucose levels actually rise slightly every time you eat. This is natural. What is not natural is that, with the average American now eating about 2.5 pounds of sugar every week, your blood glucose levels may very likely become excessively elevated, and then stay that way.

It is a well proven fact that sugar increases your insulin and leptin levels and decreases receptor sensitivity for both of these vital hormones.

This can lead to:
High blood pressure and high cholesterol
Heart disease
Diabetes
Weight gain
Premature aging

The problem lies in the vast amounts of processed sweets, such as soda -- which is now the number one source of calories in North America -- that men, women, and children are now consuming, along with the large amount of refined carbohydrates.

When you eat these low-quality carb foods -- things like white bread, sugar, pasta, pastries, cookies, and candy -- your blood sugar levels rise. This, in turn, causes your insulin and leptin levels to rise as well, which will accelerate the effects of sugar.

Avoiding sugar, on the other hand, helps you to control your insulin and leptin levels, which will help you to feel and look younger for longer.