Midlife Crisis meets Sugarholics!

 

I bought it for a friend you understand but thought I’d have a read just in case there was anything I might glean ready for that moment when I finally reached middle age. 

 

Another book I bought recently is ‘Natural Alternatives to Sugar’ by Dr Marilyn Glenville which is, for anyone who has a sweet tooth (including me), a frank and scary look at how sugar can devastate our health. In case the six chapters outlining how sugar impacts on Weight Gain, Heart Disease, Type 2 Diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Cancer don’t get your attention, there is a whole chapter on how sugar makes you age quicker! 

 

Scientists measured the blood levels of 600 men and woman aged between 50 and 70. Photographs of these people were then shown to independent people who were asked to judge their age. It was found that those with the highest blood sugar (glucose) levels were considered to look older than the people with the lowest levels. 

 

Sugar makes your skin lose its elasticity and plumpness due to a process called glycation. This effectively reduces the levels of collagen and elastin, causing the skin to harden and lose its elasticity. 

 

Ageing is also connected to our DNA structures called telomeres which become shorter as we age, and the quicker they shorten, the faster we age. Telomeres are affected by inflammation and sugar is known to cause an inflammatory reaction in the body hence also affecting the ageing process. 

 

Whichever way you look at it, sugar is just not good for us and we ideally need to give it up, or at least cut it down. Not an easy process! The good news is that, despite over consuming sugar for years, you can make changes which will impact on your health now and in the future. 

 

Some would argue, as they reach for a bar of chocolate, that “you’ve got to live your life, you might get run over by a bus tomorrow!”. However, my problem is that what happens if the bus doesn’t get me? Do I want to reach old age with a debilitating illness and a lack of mobility that will stop me running around after the grandchildren and doing the things I love doing. 

 

One of the most difficult things I find about wanting to give up sugar is the social implication. I don’t want to miss out on the birthday cake and chocolate gifts. I love nothing more than a good jabber with a friend over tea and cake or a glass (or two) of wine. Let’s meet for a green tea doesn’t have quite the same ring to it! 

 

I do know that the less sugar you eat, the less you eventually want to eat….so hang in there, and it’s possible to break the habit.