Sugar is sugar is sugar. Some sugars, in moderation, have some slight value, but you should avoid some of them at all costs. The rules for sugar are steadfast throughout any fasting regimen or throughout any healthy diet or weight-loss plan.
Sugar is not only highly addictive (the more you eat the more you crave), but it's also an immunity suppressor. As little as 3.5 ounces can suppress your immune system up to 50 percent. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published research as early as 1973 that showed that these effects start within an hour of consuming sugar and can last up to five hours.
Most sugar is void of nutrients. In fact, what's really interesting is that it requires nutrients to metabolize sugar, thus pulling minerals from your body. So sugar actually depletes your body of vitamins and minerals. Sugar addiction leads you wide open to every disease from the common cold to cancer. Sugar also impairs your blood cells from doing their job, which is to scavenge bacteria that can make you sick.
You should be pretty picky when you open the sugar gate. This list guides you to the sugars that are okay in moderation, and those that are on the no list.
Sugars that are okay in moderation include the following:
Coconut (palm) sugar
Dates/date sugar
Green leaf stevia
Fruit juice
Maple syrup (organic/grade B)
Molasses
Raw honey
Smashed bananas for baking
Meanwhile, for optimal health and weight loss, you need to eliminate or at the very least moderate all foods with added sugars from your diet, especially those foods with 5 to 10 grams or more of sugar. Four grams of sugar is one teaspoon. Steer clear of these added sugars:
Agave
Brown sugar
Raw sugar
Sugar cane
White sugar
Brown rice sugar
Corn syrup
High-fructose corn syrup
All other packaged, boxed, or packets of highly toxic artificial sugars such as aspartame (NutraSweet or Equal), sucralose (Splenda), processed stevia (Truvia or Sun Crystals), and saccharin.
Avoiding sugar altogether is impossible. Carbohydrates in healthy vegetables and fruits are essentially sugars, and your body runs off of them, so naturally these sugars aren't inherently bad. However, you want to steer clear of artificial sugars because they're toxic to the nervous system and really to your entire body. Don't even bother with them.
