In my previous post on
Ph Balance & Muscular Dystrophy, I mentioned that a low Ph level, which is
acidic, can have a very negative impact on muscles. Ok, I admit
that I have a sweet tooth….I am sure that many people do. One of the
worst foods that you can consume is sugar. Excessive sugar intake has the
effect of making the body acidic. The muscles do not perform well in an
acidic environment.
In fact, excessive
sugar intake is bad for everyone. Since it causes the body to become
acidic, an acidic environment encourages the breeding of fungus, mold, bacteria
and viruses. This is in addition to the other well know concerns such as
obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and tooth
decay.
Obviously, most people
know that there is sugar in cakes, deserts, jelly, sodas since those foods are
sweetened with either sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Sugar is
in more food products that most people would realize. There is sugar in
cereals, juices, ketchup, many sauces like pasta and barbeque sauces, mustard,
bread and many other products.
You have to read the
labels to determine how much sugar is in the processed foods that we use every
day. When reading labels, these are the names of various sugars
high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, molasses, honey,
dextrose, fructose, glucose, lactose, maltose and sucrose. Usually they
are grams, a teaspoon of sugar equals to 4 grams.
The American Heart
Association recommends strict limits on added sugars….150 calories (about 9
teaspoons) a day for men, and 100 calories (about six teaspoons) a day for
women. This is a general guideline for added sugar. For comparison
purposes, a regular size 12 oz. soda contains eight teaspoons of sugar or about
130 calories.
So, it is important to
limit the amount of sugar intake that you do daily. I reduce my intake of
sugar products by (1) reading labels when shopping and eliminating purchases
with high sugar, (2) cutting portions of anything with sugar and (3) using
Stevia as a sweetener for tea, coffee, and other liquids. I do not
recommend the other sweeteners due to the controversial safety claims.
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