Sugar: The devil?

As some of you know, my homepage is the Polyface Hen House (polyfacehenhouse.com).  If you're a regular, you may have seen Brie's post today about an assortment of different pieces of interesting information.  I was particularly interested in the section she linked to about sugar (and its usual deomonizaton).

She cites a link that I think you should read.  It's here: Empowered Sustinance

The author suggests that perhaps sugar is not the devil.  Now hold on just a minute here, my peeps.  You know when I say "sugar", I don't actually mean something that is white, powdery and comes from bleached beets or whatever.  This sugar that she talks about (the non-devil kind) is made up of the things like pure maple syrup (I prefer Grade B), raw honey, fruit, and the like.

Let me be clear.  Artificial "sugar" (xylitol, stevia, and all those horrid things in colorful packets), high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, bleached GMO beet sugar - all those creations ARE THE DEVIL.  I don't want you to think for even a fraction of a second that I would be suggesting that those are something you should consume any more than I would suggest you consume rat poison and eat paint chips and microwave food in plastic.  So this "Sugar: The devil?" question's answer to those kinds of sugar is an emphatic heck yeah.

Perhaps you are not aware that there are people out there who do think that those natural sugars actually are the devil - maple syrup, raw honey and fruit, that is.  This may seem to you like Roseanne Barr is wondering if Hulk Hogan should get on a better work out plan or something and how could this make any sense, but I am here to tell you that it's out there.  Peeps avoid even raw honey and the like because they are terrified that they will either be anti-paleo for doing so, or for some other reason.  (Doesn't that Sadkhin diet go there?  Pretty sure it does.)

The author did do this for a time on the GAPS diet.  She is a dancer and began to become increasingly lethargic (her adrenals were freaking out).  She basically started falling apart.  

Our bodies need natural sugars (like I said - raw honey, real maple syrup, and fruit) to function properly.  One of the most interesting things I learned in reading over this was about Stevia.  You have likely heard it is "natural".  While it may be derived from something in nature, the chemists who have altered it have done so to the detriment of those who choose to consume it.  When your body thinks you're going to receive sugar by signals from your palate, it gets itself ready for it.  Your bloodstream drops glucose (as some is on its way) out in preparation for the incoming load.  Stevia has a sweet taste but lacks in glucose.  When your body drops the glucose out and none comes to replace it (as it expected it to), it comes from other places in your body after your body starts yelling "Balance out!  Balance!!"  An adrenaline and cortisol surge floods and grabs stuff from where it can - your tissue, your liver, your muscles, etc. to bring you back into balance.

If you keep doing this, you're flooding  yourself with adrenaline and stealing nutrients from other parts of your body.  You don't have to be a total rocket scientist to figure out that probably isn't too good.  Eventually you will either fatigue out completely or you will overtax that adrenaline (which is supposed to be to save your life in times of fight or flight) and kill your adrenals.  (You kind of need them.)

So, recap:
Raw honey, pure maple syrup, fruit = good
artificial sugar, high fructose corn syrup, Stevia, corn syrup, GMO beet sugar = the devil

Glad we've got that all straightened out now.  

Peace, love and don't eat the devil,
Ms. Daisy