How does sugar affect your immunity anyway? Sugar is an immune suppressor. As little as 3.5 ounces can suppress your immune system up to 50 percent. Most sugar is void of nutrients, and get this: It actually requires nutrients to metabolize sugar and, therefore, pulls minerals from your body.
So sugar can actually deplete your body of vitamins and minerals. Sugar also impairs your white blood cells from doing their job, which is to scavenge up bacteria that can make you sick.
Ever wonder why some people seemingly have no trouble eating “clean”? Do you think they possess a certain strength or power that most people don’t have? Probably not. What they’ve done is quiet that unrelenting gnawing feeling that can be a monkey on their back. That monkey is your constant desire for sugar or sugary carbohydrates.
Here’s the part of the equation that’s so important to understand: Eating sugar releases insulin to reduce your level of blood sugar, which can cause your blood sugar to fluctuate too low. Whenever anything in your body gets a low signal, your brain tells you to do something about it. In this case, it signals you to eat more sugar. Enter the unrelenting cycle that can make you fat and sick.
The absolute best way to reprogram your body to not reach for sugar or sugary carbohydrates is to go completely without sugar for 30 days — no cheating, no wavering — just 30 days of cleaning your body, letting yourself get rid of weak, unhealthy cells, and building healthier cells for a more youthful, strong body.
The process is scary and difficult, yes, but it’s well worth the effort. It’s one of those game changers in life that’s worth doing.
Slaying this sugar monkey on your back may be difficult (breaking any addiction is). However, conquering diseases like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, which can result from a weak immune system, is probably more difficult.
Sugar can also create the following problems:
Accelerated aging by oxidative stress, which is an unhealthy state for your cells
Cancer cells
Food addictions
Inflammation in the body
Insulin resistance
Less good cholesterol (HDL), more bad cholesterol (LDL)
Weight gain
Wiping out sugar entirely is nearly impossible, because all carbohydrates are essentially sugar, even the healthy carbohydrates. However, you can control the added sugar. Here’s the hit list of added sugars to watch for:
Agave
Artificial sugars
Aspartame (Nutrasweet or Equal)
Brown sugar
Corn syrup
High-fructose corn syrup
Maltodextrin
Maple syrup
Molasses
Raw sugar
Rice syrup
Sucralose (Splenda)
Sugar cane
White sugar
Try to wean yourself off anything that causes you to crave sugar, that is, if you want to boost your immune system, live leaner and stronger, and fight aging.
