DISCLAIMER: The following blog is about a topic I am extremely passionate about. It is not meant to patronise, it is merely to try to educate parents and children, in order to make better informed decisions in the future.
Here’s something to think about next time you pack your child’s bag for lunch or a college camp.
Brain scans confirm that sugar consumption affects the brain in ways similar to many drugs of abuse. A highly cited article in the Journal of Neuroscience & Behavioural Problems found that sugar meets the criteria for a substance of abuse and is addictive to those who binge on it.
Fourteen million Australians are either overweight or obese. If weight gain continues at current levels, by 2025 approximately 80% of Australians will be overweight or obese. We should be embarrassed as a nation. The cause of these shocking statistics? Fat, you say? Nope, sugar. (See link below)
Upon consumption of sugar, the body secretes a hormone called insulin. Its job is to keep blood sugar levels stable, by shuttling sugar from the bloodstream and storing it in muscle (in the form of glycogen) or fat cells (in the form of triglycerides), to be used as energy. The problem with chronic consumption of sugar, is that over time the cells become resistant to the insulin, causing blood sugar levels to remain chronically high. Sounds familiar right? You guessed it, type II diabetes. Type II diabetes is now linked to a whole host of deadly metabolic disorders and is even a risk factor in brain diseases such as Alzheimers.
I could go on and on. The amount of sugary junk I confiscated on our recent college camp was shocking. More shocking though, were the lengths to which the children were prepared to go, to hide their goodies – pillow cases, under matresses, in bins, behind toilets and worst of all, wait for it, in a SANITARY DISPOSAL UNIT. (Sounds a bit like addiction, doesn’t it?)
wow… great advise.
Powerful stuff! Thanks for sharing Bradley. You’ll save a few lives with this blog.
I’ll be sharing this video around!! More steaks in my diet… great news! Thanks