Revisiting Sugar - Seeing It As A Potential 'Good Guy'?
We live in a world where sometimes it seems, everything goes, and nothing goes. We have answers for everything. And answers for nothing. As the saying goes, the more we know, the more we realize we don't actually know much at all.
I've been avoiding sugar, especially regular cane sugar, for who knows how many years.
Many.
But I've been experimenting with diets, diet, and my personal understanding of the health and wellness of my body through the things I eat, for just about 22 years now. Since age 19 I've seen food not merely as food, but moreso as a tool for learning about this world, and getting a bit closer to the truth of it all.
Essentially, I've been eating very precisely, conciously, and stategically for awhile now.
Some may call this way of living a type of mental 'illness'.
I just call it smart. :-)
Or at least, another way of life.
A way of life I personally promote, by the way. No pressure, but you know, I don't usually promote one way or another way of living as better than another. I like to just present things I've come across, and then assume you'll do your own digging, and potentially even come up with different conclusions than me.
But on the topic of food, I do feel its critical to be aware. To use your brain at every turn. And to never put any old thing inside of you just because everyone else is.
Just as I would promote being fully aware and awake while driving a vehicle on the highway.
But I digress. Back to the point here.
From what I've seen and experienced thus far, I can honestly say that I know certain things that always work for me, some things that never have, and some things that will fluctuate depending on things like my mood, quality, and even the other things that I've eaten.
But one thing that I've yet to truly experiment with is sugar.
It's one of those things that I've been avoiding avoiding avoiding.
Of course honey, maple syrup, and even molassas have been part of my diet. Sometimes in great amounts. And at other times, not at all. But they've at least been part of the equation.
But straight cane sugar?
Avoidance. That's been by hard and fast rule.
"Don't eat it. It's good for no one. It's basically the devil...."
But lately, something inside of me has got me questioning.
You may have seen posts on social media, pictures of people swarming the beaches in the 50s, 60s, and even 70s, looking all tan, thin, and healthy.
It's usually the carnivore type of dieters, using these images to promote the need to fear meat less. To fear fat less. And to at least get people to consider going back to whole foods of all types.
But something that people don't often mention here is that in those days, people also used sugar. Regular sugar. And lots of it.
Sure they weren't eating processed foods full of sugar (and many many other things!) at every turn.
But they were certainly eating sugar.
Just look at a baked goods recipe from those times. You rarely see 'maple syrup', 'honey', or even 'dates' as the main or only source of sugar. You might see those listed, but then you always see 'sugar' added as well.
Now, it's true that people were still getting sick during those times. Some might even call those times the beginning of what we see today: overweight, unhealthy, and generally super confused humans.
But I now see that there are SO many other variables going on during the early years of this mass health confusion that sugar alone (or even at all?) may not be the devil in disguise I've just assumed it was.
And so I'm revisiting the topic, personally. And I'm sharing these thoughts with you, too. Along with some scholarly papers about the topic and even an Instagram persona of a woman who intentionally drinks loads of sugar each day, and is thriving. And getting others to do so as well. With good results, mind you!
Why do we fear sugar so much?
Is this fear as just as we've been told, by so many, for so long. Or is there way more going on?
Are there other things that we're eating with the sugar that causes it to become a burden to the body?
Are you ready to question more with me?
And feel okay with being wrong, no matter what you finally conclude?
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STUDIES & RESOURCES:
(The studies below are nowhere near an exhaustive list. Always continue your own research and read the papers within each paper below.)
1) Effects of Sugar Consumption on Human Behavior and Performance
2) Sugars and Health Controversies: What Does the Science Say?
3) Non-Centrifugal Sugar (NCS) and Health: A Review on Functional Components and Health Benefits
4) HIGH CARBOHYDRATE DIETS AND INSULIN EFFICIENCY
6) Long Term Self Case Study - Instagram Persona
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