SUGAR.Alikingforsweetthingsseemsnaturaltopeopleeverywhere.Inan-
cienttimespeoplesatisfiedtheirdesireforsweetswithhoney.Todaysugaris
the most widely used sweetener.
Sugarismostoftenusedtosweetenfoodsandbeverages.Inearliertimes,
sugarwasusedasasedative,buttodayitisassociatedwithanumberof
healthproblems.Itisknown,forexample,thatexcessiveconsumptionof
sugarcancontributetoobesityandpromotetoothdecay.Inaddition,sugar
hasbeenassociatedwithhyperactivityinchildrenandhypertensionin
adults.Neverthelessitremainsapopularfoodandflavoring.“Sugar”isa
generaltermforacategoryofcarbohydratecompounds,butthegranulesor
cubesofcommontablesugararespecificallysucrose.Agroupofrelated
compoundsbelongingtothesamegroupofcarbohydratesandtermedsug-
arsbychemistsarecornsugar(calledglucoseordextrose),fruitsugar
(calledfructoseorlevulose),milksugar(lactose),andmaltsugar(maltose)
(seeCarbohydrates).Inadditiontothesecompoundstherearetherelatively
indigestiblesugarsusedin“sugarless”candiesandgumsmanitolandsor-
bitol. 216
Onewouldnecessarilywanttoaskthemedicalestablishmentwhytheuseofsugarandotherchemic-
alsareallowedinfoodsiftheirgoalistopromotehealthandwellbeing.Inancienttimeshoneywas
used,butrememberthatthehoneyproducedbybeeswasnotprocessedorrefinedanditwasnot
abundantlyavailableinmostfoodsandinquantitiesthatwouldsaturatethebody.Inaddition,the
fruittreesthatthebeesusedastheirsourcetoproducethehoneywerenottreesthatweresprayed
withherbicides,pesticidesandfungicides,etc.,aswehavetoday,exceptforafewsourcesthat
provideorganichoney.Withrespecttohoneyalso,whileitcanbeusedastoassistinthetransition
fromtablesugar,oneshouldhavetheunderstandingthatitshouldbestoppedaltogether.Honeyis
stilltechnicallyananimalproductofsorts,andalsowhatmostpeopleareusuallyunawareofisthat
honeyisaproductofregurgitation(vomit)frombees.Abetterchoiceforatransitionsubstituteis
maple syrup, and even better is a natural herbal product called stevia.
Youmusttakecaretoreadthelabelsonthefoodsyouwanttoeatandlookforsugarinallofitspro-
cessedforms:sugar,sucrose,dextrose,glucose,fructose,levulose,highfructosecornsyrup,lactose,
maltose,manitolandsorbitol,honey,maplesyrup,etc.Stayawayfromanyfoodswithprocessed
sugars.Youwillobtainnaturalsugarsbyeatingproperquantitiesofthefoodsrecommendedinthis
book.Consumingsugarsthatareextractedandconcentratedwillproduceanimbalancedsituationin
thebodybecausetheotherbalancingcompoundsthatonewouldordinarilyingestalongwiththesug-
arwheneating,let’ssayanapple,arenotthere.Themicroorganismsofthebodythatexistinanor-
malbalancebegintomultiplywildlyinthepresenceofexcesssugar,fermentinganyothercom-
poundsthatweretakeninwiththesugar,producingintestinalgas.Themoretheymultiply,themore
sugartheywant,andhereinliesthereasonforpartofthecravingforsugarthatoneexperiences;itis
astimulationbythebacteriatofeedthem...thatis,tofeedthemmoresugar.Themoretheymultiply,