by Pam Lob
Confused by the media and health advisers messages not to eat sugar and carbs?  Scared to ‘eat an apple a day to keep the doctor away’?

Nearly every animal, bird, insect alive on our planet today loves something sweet.  Not only does it taste good but it’s also a good source of energy.
Plants reproduction had adapted to this love by providing sweet nectar to encourage insects and birds to disperse their pollen, or their seeds are hidden in a sweet fruit coating to be carried of elsewhere and some even get provided with their own little package of fertilizer after passing through a digestive system.  Some animals including man, bears and apes will go to great lengths to get at a source of honey, risking being severely stung just to savor it’s delicious sweetness.

However not all sugar is equal.  The sugar that we humans are most aware of is the white crystals that get added to nearly all processed foods from cakes to tomato sauce and even French fries.  This type of sugar is a demon and along with its even more ugly cousin: high fructose corn syrup, is highly addictive and can cause all sorts of disease.

Excessive consumption of all processed sugars results in a compromised immune system and is directly linked with the rise in obesity and diabetes.  Sugar in this form is also the favorite food of all cancers.

The World health Organisation recommends a daily sugar consumption of no more than 25g, which equated to 6 1/4 teaspoons of sugar, yet in the USA 90g per capita per day is consumed and in the European Union it’s a staggering 100g per day.

Sugar in this form is 8 times as addictive as cocaine and whereas cocaine only activates one area of pleasure in the brain, sugar lights up multiple places.  Sugar stimulates the production of dopamine, a brain chemical that makes you feel happy.  The brain can produce dopamine without sugar been consumed but like any addiction it requires an uncomfortable period of going cold turkey and most people as soon as they sense a dip will reach for a sugary snack.

Not all types of sugar are addictive and harmful to your body.  When a plant such as sugar cane is highly processed the sugar it produces is highly acidic and damaging to the body.  Whereas sugar in its natural state in fruit and vegetables is alkaline and is beneficial to the body in numerous ways. Not only does it provide glucose required for energy but also phytonutrients to nourish and support all our body cells.

A baby at birth immediately requires milk to grow.  Breast milk is primarily contains lactose a form of sugar.  Natural sugars are essential for building the mind and body and infants naturally seek something sweet.

Reaching for something sweet is also safe as the earth does not produce anything that is sweet that is also poisonous.

Tyler Tolman a holistic nutritionist and health practitioner has had success in treating patients with cancer, diabetes and numerous other diseases using fruit and vegetable juice fasting as part of their treatment.  He describes the juice of plants as the plants blood that carries nutrients to all the plant cells. He also suggests that the fructose and glucose in plants is formed from the Suns energy as there is no sugar in our soils.

All our cells require sugar to function, so eating natural unprocessed plant sugars in the form of fruit, vegetables and their juices (freshly squeezed) are vital to your body.

If you want optimum health ditch the processed sugars and artificial sugars that are also extremely harmful to your health found in nearly all processed foods.

Instead eat plenty of vegetables and fruit in the quantities that are right for your body type. Use dates, honey or maple syrup in your cooking and you will find that after a while you will stop craving the sweet processed foods and soda’s.  More importantly you will have more energy and will be healthier inside and out.