Sugar’s Health Perils

"For me, and many others around the country, sugar addiction started at a young age. Well-intended parents reward children with sugary snacks, turning a biochemically harmful substance into a comfort food. Then, when we hit a bump in life we turn to our favorite substance – a sugar treat!"

 

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the typical American diet consists of over 150 pounds of sugar each year. They, along with many other professional medical organizations, have warned that there are several reasons
why people should cut back on sugar consumption. Some researchers believe high sugar consumption is connected to risk factors that can lead to cardiovascular disease, obesity and range of other health problems.  One woman, Denise Martin, knows first hand just how destructive an addiction to the sweet stuff can be.

“What people need to know is just how destructive refined sugar can be to our mind, body and spirit,” explains Martin, author of “Eating My Way to Heaven” (Book Publishers Network, 2005). “For me, and many others around the country, sugar addiction started at a young age. Well-intended parents reward children with sugary snacks, turning a biochemically harmful substance into a comfort food. Then, when we hit a bump in life we turn to our favorite substance – a sugar treat!”

Martin doesn’t hold back in her enquiring autobiography, where she bares all about enduring sexual and emotional abuse as a child, the ups and downs of her life with bulimia and addictions, and life on the road. She also shares how she had a spiritual awakening as a result of her lifestyle shift.

“When I learned about the connection between what we put in our bodies and spirituality I was amazed,” says Martin. “It doesn’t matter if you are Christian, Muslim, Jewish or other, I found that when we put foods nourished by nature in our bodies, instead of highly refined, man-made fare – we will have a deeper relationship with spirit.â€?

Martin takes her mission seriously. She co-founded the first Sugar Detox Center in the country, working with people diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), depression, diabetes and even Autism. As they turned to a lifestyle of whole foods they saw remarkable improvements in their conditions. Not many people would take such a role in leading people to change, but Martin even took her message on a 2100-mile hitchhiking journey to tell it to Oprah.      

“I’m willing to go the extra mile for what I believe in,” adds Martin, a woman who was in menopause at 38 and went onto conceive naturally and give birth to her first child at age 47.  “I’ve staged demonstrations for media attention, traveling the country, with a life-like displays of the per capita amount of sugar our population is consuming. The world will be a better place when people realize the strong connection between what they eat and how they think and feel and worship!”

 

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