Sugar – the sweetest thing in the world!

Franken-Foods...at their best.

Have you ever been called sugar or honey? My grandmother Elvira always said, Sugar, Pie! Now that’s sweet. But, do you know how sugar affects every other aspect of your health? Do you how it raises blood pressure, creates and worsens depression, how it interferes with sleep and concentration? If you want more of this information,  join in!  Listen live at: Saturday, 7:00 p.m. and Sunday 8:30 a.m. [EDT]: www.wchmradio.com. Sunday, 3:00 p.m. www.blogtalkradio.com/thehealthreverend - or dial in (929) 477-2763

LET ME REMIND YOU THAT: I am not a physician; I have no medical training or experience. I have read some medical texts and have talked to a few people who have read them. I do, however, know health and nutrition. I have studied health and wellness and I have experienced various degrees of improvement by applying that which I have learned. Any information that I pass along will be from personal experience, and absolutely not intended to replace professional medical advice. Having said that, let us continue:


You will recall that the topic for this month is sugar. You may remember that: sugar is not your friend and That will not change We are coming close to the national overeating season, so, we don’t want to miss out.

Today’s scripture: EASY-READ VERSION [ERV] - Isaiah 55:1-3

Isaiah was a major prophet – his writing is very lengthy and has a greater influence in Christian teachings. However,  he is highly regarded in both Judaism and Islam. Generally, when people such as Isaiah speak of food, it is referring to spiritual food. The opening section of this book speaks to people who have been distanced from God and God is inviting them back.

Back when these scriptures were written, no one had yet heard of these five major killers that we know so well today [cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity and stroke]. No one had ever been told that they had high blood pressure and surely, nary a soul had ever been told they needed to lose weight! Well, today, that’s not the case. Back then, no one was eating packaged foods, processed foods or Genetically Modified Foods. Today, we do have these problems and today we do eat these things.

Today, therefore, we really need some help. To this end, I will read from the 55^th chapter of Isaiah,“All you people who are thirsty, come!    Here is water for you to drink.Don’t worry if you have no money.    Come, eat and drink until you are full!You don’t need money.    The milk and wine are free.² Why waste your money on something that is not real food?    Why should you work for something that does not really satisfy you?Listen closely to me and you will eat what is good.    You will enjoy the food that satisfies your soul.³ Listen closely to what I say.    Listen to me so that you will live.


Here’s the question: Why waste your money on something that is not real food? What did you eat for breakfast today? Bagel, Toast with cream cheese. Bowl of cereal, maybe. Did you give your children a high-protein/high fat breakfast? If not, I ask this question again, Why waste your money on something that is not real food? By the time you get done with all the ingredients that you know, and then move on to all those you can’t even pronounce, it is hard to know that you are even consuming food, at all. But we need food. A person wants to eat something before leaving home. And you must, simply must give your children something to eat. But, Have you considered the food value of your last meal? Is there enough nutrition in your breakfast to get you to lunch? Did you remember to bring along a protein bar for your mid-afternoon snack?

I am borrowing from the great African Historian Neely Fuller, Jr.: If you don’t understand health, nutrition, wellness, disease, everything else that you think you know will surely only confuse you.


HERE’S THE PROBLEM, AS I SOMETIMES SEE IT:  Nobody can be sure of what to eat, when to eat it or how much to eat, because there are so many conflicting ideas about it all. Low-fat/high-fat, low-sugar, no-sugar, natural sugar/ artificial sweeteners, dried fruit or fresh fruit; white bread or wheat bread; organic or traditional; canned or frozen. Which? When? How Much? How often? Just too much information. Another name for it is confusion.

The next thing we know, we can’t sleep; can’t wake up; can’t relax, can’t concentrate, can’t see; can’t focus when we can see. Most of the time, we can’t even remember what it was we ate that got us to feeling so bad. Confusion.

What does sugar have to do with all this? Every item of low-fat food has a high sugar content. Every canned fruit has sugar added [just depends on which name it’s using].  Every cracker, every protein bar, or shake, you guessed it: has sugar added. We know ice cream has sugar: yogurt so does. If not, it has enough aspartame to make your brain wish you had eaten sugar!

Sugar, even a little, can be a very dangerous thing: it can, cause cancer, diabetes, rotten teeth, sleep
Sugar, not fat, makes you fat. it can cause depression, sugar increases the release of insulin, which if not used up properly, is stored as fat and you know what increased insulin can do. Sugar causes digestion problems. Listen, sugar can even cause your brain to shrink! That’s right. How is that: well, your brain needs fat and protein. If there’s more sugar than fat, we got problems. Sugar affects vision, it causes stiff joints, makes you shakey. Wow. Is that enough? Ok, good. but I can come back with more.

The next time someone tells you something about health, and start with ‘they say’, that’s when you should stop listening. If you keep listening and they can’t tell you where they found the information, stop listening. If, on the other hand, someone is telling you about personal experience: good, bad and otherwise, listen to them.  Don’t be caught in another fad; don’t be concerned with how some Hollywood type lost weight, or which one Oz is endorsing this week. You want to know the best diet for you? the one that works! And there are several layers to that, so be ware.

Here are some of the fads that are really popular as ‘general information’ or ‘generally agreed upon fiction’:
Sugar don’t cause diabetes
Yogurt is better for you than ice cream
A little bit of sugar if not a problem.
Honey is better for you than sugar.    
Fad ≠ Fact – no questions asked.
I don’t suggest that you base your health, your family’s health, your future health, on a fad. I suggest that you take to heart the information I bring to you and use it as a guide toward improved, enhanced, excellent health.

For more information, please explore the following sites:

https://www.youtube.com/user/butterbobbriggs
www.drberg.com

Thank you for your time in reading this information. I am SandraTeresa Davenport, TheHealthReverend. Please come again and please come often! Meantime, LiveWell