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- Stanford Field
- August 18, 2005
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- At the beginning of the 21st
century, in one year, the average American adult consumed a 100 lb. sack
of refined sugar, 300 cans of soft drinks, 18 lbs. of candy (mostly
chocolate), 12 lbs. of potato chips and popcorn, 700 doughnuts, 50 lbs.
of cookies and cakes, and 20 gal. of ice cream. This is equivalent to
170 lbs. of sugar (50% of carbohydrate calories) or 200 grams/d or 50g/4
hrs or 12 teaspoons/4hrs of awake time.
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- Sucrose = d-glucose +
d-fructose (equimolar)
- Fructose = d-fructose + l-fructose
(levulose)
- d=dextro=right; l=levo=left
(referring to the rotation of polarized light passed through an aqueous
solution of the sugar). “d” and “l” are “right” and “left” stereoisomers
that are mirror images.
- Human oxidation for energy
uses the “dextro” isomer. The “levo” isomer is sent to the liver to be
converted to triglycerides which are stored as fat. The triglycerides
can be used for energy if the body is put into a “fat-burning” mode.
- Thus, the use of “high
fructose corn syrup” (hfcs) and its levulose in many foods in the U.S.
over the last 30 years has deceptively accelerated the on-going obesity
epidemic. This has occurred because the U.S government encourages the
conversion of excess corn to hfcs by subsidizing the producers of corn
syrup production while taxing cane sugar imports. This is economically
protective for farmers, beneficial for politicians and physically
destructive for the entire population including the farmers and
politicians.
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- Experiments with Rats:
Researchers withheld food for
12 hrs. and then gave rats food + sugar water. This created a
cycle of binging. The rats increased their daily sugar intake until it
doubled.
- When researchers either
stopped the sugar or administered an opioid blocker, the rats showed
signs of drug withdrawal (teeth chattering and uncontrolled body
shaking). Rats weaned off the addiction to sugar repeatedly pressed a
lever that previously dispensed the sugar solution.
- These studies give clues
that sugar, like some drugs, can induce a feeling of euphoria, take away
pain and induce a pleasant sleep. Sounds great! What’s wrong with that?
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- Excess sugar and other
simple carbohydrates like alcohol, grains and starches (polyglucose)
cause concomitant high
insulin surges which activate the enzymes that convert linoleic acid to arachidonic acid.
- Excess arachidonic acid in
cell membranes causes an oxidative over-reaction to cell injury caused
by toxins, carcinogens and pathogens. The arachidonic acid cascade is an
immune system mediator of various diseases. That cascade is magnified by
cortisol release caused by the chronic stress (including caffeine and
other stimulants) of our “go-go” world.
- The high insulin surges
also cause an expression of the aromatase enzyme which converts
androgens to estrogens. Excess estrogens mediate the growth of cancers.
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- Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) can be reduced to scorbutic (scurvy-like)
levels in vascular cells. This is an important cause of cardiovascular
disease.
- Cancers (via estrogens)
- Prostate enlargement (via estrogens)
- Glycation (reaction of protein with sugar [fructose is more potent than
glucose] which causes inflammation that results in clumping of red blood
cells, cardiovascular disease, brain dysfunction caused by decreased
blood circulation, lack of energy, fibrosis of body parts [especially
visible in skin] and rapid aging. Glycation = f(sugar conc.) which is
more rapid in diabetics
- Diabetes
- Adrenal Burnout (from cycles of hypoglycemia)
- Pancreatic Burnout (from cycles of hypo and hyper glycemia)
- Proliferation of fungi in the intestines that crowd out beneficial
bacteria and cause intestinal dysfunction; fungi can enter bloodstream
and travel to various parts of the body to causing allergic reactions
and other immune system warnings. Abnormal fibrin deposition may occur
to wall-in pathogens
- Attention Deficit (hypoglycemia) Hyperactivity (hyper-catecholamines)
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- Most animals (except
humans, apes and guinea pigs) synthesize ascorbic acid from glucose at
the rate of 10 g/d (in health) to 60 g/d (in sickness) per 170 lbs. of
animal. The U.S. govt. recommended daily allowance (RDA) for vitamin C
is 0.06 g/d which infinitesimal
compared to what is healthy.
- Ascorbic acid and glucose
have somewhat similar chemical structures, but they are metabolized in
much different ways. Glucose is used primarily for energy production,
while ascorbic acid is used not only as the main water-soluble
antioxidant, but also to produce collagen, serotonin and norepinephrine.
- Collagen is the major
protein in the human body. Collagen is an essential part of the
extracellular matrix, and its fibers are found in bone, cartilage,
tendons and ligaments. It gives blood vessels strength and flexibility.
Healthy collagen production is a major key to preventing cardiovascular
disease.
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- Glucose and ascorbic acid
compete with one another to enter cells. Insulin is the mediator for
their entry. Glucose is preferentially admitted to the cells because it
is the prime source of energy.
- Sugar reduces immunity
because white blood cells need
high-dose ascorbate to engulf and destroy virii, bacteria and
cancer cells. Glucose inhibits the amount of ascorbic acid that a
leukocyte can take in. A blood glucose value of 120 mg/dl (pre-diabetic) will reduce
phagocytic activity by 75% compared to the normal glucose level of 90
mg/dl.
- Insulin potentiation
therapy for cancer is done in the hypoglycemic range of about 60 mg/dl. During
hypoglycemia, fatty acids are mobilized for energy use, and their entry
to cells is mediated by transport proteins that do not depend on
insulin. This leads to the realization that sodium ascorbate therapy
(IV) for serious diseases would be more effective if the patient were
fasting to induce mild hypoglycemia.
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- Insulin (I) and glucagon (G) are pancreatic hormones that balance the
supply of fuel (glucose and fatty acids) in the bloodstream. Normally,
I/G = 2.
- When a hypercaloric (especially carbohydrate) meal is eaten, I/G rises
to about 10 which puts the body into an energy-storage mode. Insulin is
dominant. Excess glucose is converted to triglycerides and cholesterol
for storage as fat. Fat in storage cannot be used as fuel.
- When a hypocaloric (low carbohydrate) meal is eaten, I/G falls to about ˝ which puts the
body into an
energy-burning mode. Glucagon is dominant. Fat from storage is
mobilized for fuel, and fat cannot be stored.
- Trigycerides/HDL in the blood is a surrogate for insulin. Low insulin is
Tg/HDL < 1.5. (SF @ Tg 48 mg/dl : HDL 58 mg/dl = 0.8)
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- Stress makes you consume more food (especially the opioid-generating
simple carbohydrates [sweets]), and stress causes you to burn fewer
calories.
- The U.S. government’s “High Carbohydrate” and “High Fructose Corn Syrup”
policies are heavy contributors to the current epidemic of obesity in
our stressed- out society.
- Stress: Overeat +Slow Metabolic
Rate = Stored Fat
- The average American is consuming
about 12 grams of sugar
per hour of awake time …
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- A glass of orange juice
contains 25 grams of sugar. Normal total glucose in the bloodstream of a
man is 5 grams (5600 ml of
blood at 90 mg/dl). Delicate body biochemistry is undoubtedly
overwhelmed by the 30 grams of glucose in a short time.
- Most likely, cells have
glucose processing capability that ranges from 3 to 10 grams
(hypoglycemia [60 mg/dl] to hyperglycemia [180 mg/dl]). The sedentary
metabolic rate of 1500 cal/d is equivalent to only 0.26 grams of glucose
per minute. The added 25 grams of glucose in a short time is a serious
situation. It overwhelms a healthy equilibrium.
- Avoid sugar surges by
diluting 1 part of juice with 4
parts of water. You will love knowing that you are doing what is
healthy!
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- The pancreas secretes insulin
whose main function is to maintain a constant level of glucose in the
blood. It does this by the following:
- (1) it facilitates
the passage of glucose from extracellular fluids into the cells for
oxidation to supply energy
- (2) it promotes
the conversion (in the liver) of excess glucose to glycogen (glucose
polymer) for storage in the liver (400 cal) and muscles (1600 cal;
exercise increases storage capacity)
- (3) it promotes
the conversion (in the liver) of overflow glucose to triglycerides for
storage in fat cells (140,000 cal in non-obese person)
- (4) it promotes
the conversion (in the liver) of overflow glucose to cholesterol which
is formed under anaerobic conditions and cannot be oxidized to steroid
hormones (fructose forms more cholesterol than glucose because the
levulose part of fructose cannot be used for energy; cholesterol = f
(hfcs))
- (5) in diabetics,
glucose is excreted in the urine in a further drawdown of excess
glucose.
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- The hypothalamus detects
high glucose and, in response, causes the adrenal glands to secrete
cortisol. The cortisol protects the integrity of the cells by making
them resistant to the detrimental effects of the flood of glucose. Cortisol
causes insulin resistance (Syndrome X) by increasing the rate of
degradation of insulin receptors and by suppressing their synthesis. At
the same time, the sympathetic nervous system releases catecholamines which
contribute to hypertension by diminishing blood vessel diameter. Thus,
Syndrome X is largely a nutritional disease.
- When adrenal burnout
eventually occurs (because of high sugar intake) and cortisol cannot be
secreted in sufficient amounts, it is necessary to eliminate sugar
intake and supplement with low-dose cortisol (1% hydrocortisone) to
delay the onset of diabetes.
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Notes
