'What's Up Sweet?' from the HTCM

Nutrition has become a very important part of my life. It began with the diagnosis of my husband with a cholesterol problem after a back injury immobilised him. This was over 10years ago, and I remember the nutritionist’s advice to ‘read labels’ and take notice of the additives, and the fat and sugar levels. I remember thinking “Sugar? He’s got to watch the sugar? Why? Isn’t cholesterol a problem with fats?” But no, the kind of sugar you consume can seriously affect your health. Processed sugar (sucrose) is now the most commonly ingested sweetener, with more and more kinds of processed sweeteners, natural and synthetic, being launched onto the product shelves. When the body can make sugar from the carbohydrates it consumes anyway, the question has to be asked, ‘do we need to eat sugar?’


The physiological issues are of course Diabetes, Cholesterol (high triglyceride levels) skin problems, menstrual problems, yeast infections, and increased energy levels leading to ‘shakes’. You may hear someone say they need to have a ‘sugar-fix’ because they’ve got ‘the shakes’, but what is happening is the body is in a process of ‘coming down’ from a sugar fix….The most obvious behavioural, mental and psychological issues brought on by high sugar intake are Bi-polar disorders and varying levels of Depression, which are common side effects of the body’s own balancing act.

The role of insulin in the body is to regulate the blood sugar levels, and when we have had a huge ‘hit’ of sugar, our body naturally injects a huge burst of insulin into the bloodstream to counteract the massive mental ‘high’ from the sugar. When the body is subjected to this kind of treatment over and over again, several times a day, everyday, it can cause serious problems in a short amount of time. Our brains get the effect of the endorphin rush from the injection of insulin, and this makes us feel ‘up’. It’s a mood enhancer. When this kind of action is being taken over and over again, it represses the ability of the brain to make endorphins, and this can lead to long term and deep depressive states...or the addiction to sugar intake as a way to feel good. Yet while sugar will make you feel good quickly, it is short lived in the body, and the insulin ‘downer’ will be active long after the sugar high is gone.

So what sugar is good sugar?

Natural sugars that occur in fruits and vegetables are easily processed by the body, and it usually takes a huge amount of these foods to produce the kind of effects that come from a comparatively small amount of processed sugar. For this reason it is always preferable to have small amounts of naturally occurring sugar over any kind of processed sugar.

The reason for this is because natural sugars in fruit, ‘fructose’, has all its chemical bonds in place, whereas processed sugar does not. It takes a lot longer for the body to process fructose and so the energy it receives from it has a sustained release, not a quick blast.

Have you ever wondered what kind of processes and chemicals are used to produce common white sugar?

When I went to school I was taught about sugar production, as it was one of the biggest industries in Queensland. I never remember them including the bit about the chemicals added during the process...it was all explained as a ‘heating and cooling’ process...but actually, there are lots of processes the sugar cane juice goes through that I was never told about.

Firstly the sugar cane juice is mixed with lime (no, not the fruit) to get the right ph level (acidity). Through evaporation the crystals are separated and further dried. White sugar is obtained by adding sulphur dioxide to the cane juice before evaporation (this bleaches the mixture). “In the production of refined white sugar, which is the most common product in the Western world, the raw sugar syrup is mixed with a heavy syrup and run through a centrifuge again to take away the outer coating of the raw sugar crystals. Phosphoric acid and calcium hydroxide are then added to the juice which then combine and absorb or trap impurities. Alternatively, carbon dioxide is used to achieve the same effect. The resulting syrup is then filtered through a bed of activated carbon to remove molasses and then crystallized a number of times under vacuum. It is then further dried to produce white refined sugar like we buy in the store.” (www.Greenlivingtips.com) That’s a fair amount of heating, whizzing, evaporating, chemical additives and more evaporating before its packaged and distributed….seems there is more to sugar than just having a little in your tea or coffee…

Apart from the physiological and psychological problems associated with high intake of processed sugar, there is the environmental issues relating to sugar cane farms. Toxic chemical run-off and overspray from pesticides and herbicides as well as fertilisers, is a major pollutant for the surrounding areas. This is all before the sugar cane area has been delineated, cleared (felling natural vegetation and habitat), planted, fertilised, sprayed, and then burnt off for harvesting…These points are in need of considering, if we, as a society want to do all we can to promote a world that our children’s children can inherit. Obtaining certified organic cane sugar can at least give you the peace of mind that your sweet tooth is not causing overt pollution, however, the best thing to do would be to dramatically cut down or avoid processed sugar. There are alternatives out there, and they’re natural, and they’re better for you.


I am a recovering sugar addict, who, like so many others who stumble out of the daze of sugar addiction, wants to shout it out to the world about how good it feels to be processed sugar free! Apologies to those who are enjoying their sugar fixes though...I do ‘get’ where you’re at. For help with getting off the processed sugar roundabout, you might like to consider a ‘My Chi’ consultation which can address this as one of your Key Issues. http://www.holistictherapyconnections.com/jthtcmychi.html ~ Jannette Tibbs 

PS: next month we’ll have a look at the alternatives to using ‘sugar’.