Does sugar make you old? When sugar reacts with amino acids, AGEs (advanced glycation end products) are formed. It occurs in the foods we eat and also in our bodies. AGEs are easy to remember as they contribute in a major way, along with oxidation, to disease and aging.
Reducing AGEs is critical if you want to slow the development and/or progression of disease and aging in general.
If you eat a typical American diet, did you know you will most likely consume 2 ½ pounds of sugar in a week? Reducing dietary intake of AGEs reduces oxidative stress and inflammatory markers in your body. Remembering that inflammation is now understood to be the root cause of chronic disease and premature aging, this puts greater emphasis on the fact that it’s all connected.
We can make significant improvements to our health if we just begin to look objectively at what we eat and analyze it, first for sugar content. Food labeling is sneaky, so check out the 60+ names of sugar in the resources section of http://ThinStrongHealthy.com. It’s not shown on labels as simply “sugar.” That would be too easy. You have to look for anything that ends in “ose” for starters: lactose, maltose, fructose and so on. Anything that ends in “ose” is a type of sugar.
Since I just mentioned fructose, let me share that it was tested in a controlled study of 16 individuals in 2012. They were given a diet high in fructose for just 10 weeks. It produced new fat cells around their digestive organs, heart and liver in just this short amount of time. Think for a moment what years of consuming fructose is doing to your weight and to your health in general.
One other thing to remember: don’t believe what you read on the front of the food package. That is not regulated, and big food does not have to tell the truth (and they don’t). It’s when you turn the package over that you get closer to the real facts. Even then, they have wiggle room and can mislead and deceive us. If a serving is something ridiculously small and contains less than .5 grams of sugar (per serving), they are allowed to say “zero sugar” or “no sugar.” If a realistic serving size would be two times what they are indicating, multiply that less than .5 grams amount by two. You may be eating more sugar that you imagine even when you’re trying to reduce your sugar intake.
Get the list from http://ThinStrongHealthy.com and start to check out your food labels. This will go a long way to getting you on a better eating track that will lead you to better health.
This article was originally posted on my blog at: https://thinstronghealthy.com/does-sugar-make-you-old/
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Cheryl A Major lives in Westford and is a Certified Nutrition and Wellness Consultant. Her TV show, Thin Strong Healthy, airs on WestfordCAT and is an offshoot of her blog http://ThinStrongHealthy.com. Cheryl offers ongoing information, live and online courses and personal health coaching to help you feel better and be healthier. Follow Cheryl on Twitter @CherylAMajor. She is also a full time residential Realtor with Coldwell Banker with more than 25 years experience.
