Insulin Resistance Syndrome and Diabetes - Continued and sudden intakes of sugar lead to frequent insulin releases into the bloodstream. This leads to 'insulin resistance syndrome' where it takes more and more insulin to get the blood sugar level back down to normal. The pancreas continues to produce insulin and too much blood sugar is mopped up, resulting in 'hypoglycemia' or low blood sugar, the symptoms of which are stress, tiredness, anxiety and cravings for sweet foods. The pancreas produces as much insulin as it can, but eventually burns out and stops producing insulin at all. Type II diabetes is the result. When diabetes accompanies high blood pressure and obesity, heart disease usually follows. High sugar consumption, inactivity, stress and smoking all greatly increase the risk of obesity, heart attack and stroke.
And then there's our teeth. Sugar is the main cause of dental decay and gum disease. Toothbrushing can help, as does fluoride, but by far the most effective way to prevent decay is to avoid sugar, or to consume it rarely and only with meals. It has also been shown that cancer cells thrive on glucose. Some therapies work by starving the cancerous cells of sugar.
So, it's the 'surges' in blood glucose level that cause most of the trouble, rather than the sugar itself. Indeed, one of the key functions of blood is to carry sugar, in the form of glucose, around the body. The brain uses more than 300 calories a day, up to half of the glucose in the bloodstream. When the blood sugar level is low, the brain cells, muscles and nerves of the body cannot function correctly and fatigue, irritability, nervousness and faintness result. In extreme forms it exists as bad temper, neurotic behaviour and paranoia.
