Sugar and Heart Disease
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the U.S. We've all heard to avoid fat to keep our heart healthy, but is fat the real enemy? Fat is not the problem, sugar is.
If you are eating sugar on a daily basis, you need to read this article to understand what it is doing to your heart!
Sugar and heart disease are not a good combination.
I struggled with high cholesterol starting in my late 20’s and chalked it up to heredity. My dad had it (he passed away from a heart attack in his mid 40’s).
I didn’t eat that much butter, bacon, eggs or all those highly fat foods the experts told me to stay away from so why was my cholesterol so high?
What did we eat a lot of? Sugar.
How Addictions To Sugar Start
Usually the addiction starts in childhood. Parents want to “treat” their child and feel they are showing love and it usually involves something sweet.
Every day my mom had a brand new yummy dessert for us to eat after each meal and many times at night we had a milkshake. Unfortunately, my mom also had heart problems and had to get a pacemaker.
The connection to sugar and heart disease is real and outlined in Dr Sear's Prime Time book. I highly recommend this book if you want to learn more about staying healthy and enjoying your “prime years”.
The changes we experience as we age are real and this book gives insightful reasons to why and how to prevent issues.
This post may contain affiliate links that cost you nothing, but allow this site to continue to run and provide free and helpful content.
Learn more – policy page.
Get Dr Sears Prime Time Book Here
Sugar And Heart Disease with Diabetes
Studies now show sugar is a major contributor to heart disease. If you develop Type II diabetes, you are 2-4 times more likely to die of a heat attack or suffer a stroke.
Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas, ensuring blood sugar stays in balance. Insulin is released when blood sugar levels rise and is responsible for delivering the sugar, or glucose, to the body’s cells to be used as fuel.
When too much insulin is released, the cells will resist the insulin and it is stored in other parts of the body, usually the liver or belly. This can result in health problems, including diabetes.
The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that adults with diabetes are 2-4 times more likely to die of heart disease or stroke than those without diabetes.
Insulin Resistance and Your Heart Health
Basically, eating too much sugar, releases too much insulin and your body eventually becomes insulin resistance leading to major health issues.
Insulin resistance throws the body completely out of balance. Blood vessels are damaged and arteries can harden. Nerve endings to the heart can also be damaged.
When sugar cannot be carried to cells properly, it starts attaching itself to proteins and changing them into a sticky sludge. When you have sticky sludge in your veins, blood cannot flow properly.
High cholesterol can happen as excess insulin stimulates the cholesterol making enzyme in the liver.
Too much insulin can cause the kidneys to retain sodium – and you guessed it, that means high blood pressure.
I could go on and on, but trust me, we eat way too much sugar and our bodies are paying the price. Sugar and heart disease are a real thing.
Dr. Jason Fung has studied insulin resistance for years and found the best way to avoid it is by Intermittent Fasting.
Read more about the Health Benefits of Intermittent Fasting here
Where Do We Find Sugar?
Sugar is hidden in packaged foods and restaurants love to add it so you want more. Sugar is VERY addicting.
This article from SheFinds shows some of the most misunderstood foods when it comes to sugar content:
“Healthy” Snacks No One Should Be Having Anymore Because They Have WAY Too Many Grams Of Sugar!
I found some stats from 3 years ago that said there are over 600,000 foods in the American food industry and 80% contain sugar! I'm sure today that number is MUCH higher.
Americans consume an average of 152 pounds of sugar each year.
Eat Less Sugar To Protect Your Heart From Disease
Following a low carb or Keto Diet is the best way to combat sugar cravings. This has helped me lose over 40 pounds and improved my lab reports drastically!
Never drink sugar, this is such a waste. Colas, fruit juices, punches, energy drinks should all be avoided. These are empty calories and added sugar with no real benefits.
Try Zevia colas that are sweetened with stevia or take this liquid Monk Fruit with you and add to your favorite unsweetened Star Bucks drink.
You can learn how to start the Keto Diet here.
Tips For Breaking Sugar Addiction
- Start replacing sugar with healthy alternatives like Monk Fruit, Stevia and Erythritol. Your body will go into withdrawals such as head aches, dizziness and HUGE cravings.
2. To help combat withdrawals, drink LOTS of water and use electrolytes like Ultima to help replenish your magnesium and potassium. I love the Grape flavored, you can find here. These come in little packets I keep in my purse. As hard as it will be, don't give in! Your body will thank you afterwards.
3. Sweat it out! Sweating releases toxics from the body. You can work up a sweat exercising or walking outside in the heat. I am fortunate to have a sauna at my house and use it to sweat. Check a local spa or wellness center and see if there is a sauna near by you can go to and sweat for at least 20 minutes.
4. Snacking can bring about temptations. Be sure and have healthy snacks available so you don't grab something sweet. You can find ideas here in this list of healthy snacks
5. Another big mistake a lot of us make after detoxing from sugar, is slowly adding it back to our diets. This is a dangerous game because you will probably end up addicted again and have to start all over. I've been there done that, and hope to never return.
6. Scrap your tongue at least once a day. I use this inexpensive tool made specially for tongue scrapping. I just pop it in the dishwasher silverware rack to sanitize it. You can also use a big metal spoon. This helps remove the coating you get from eating sugar and carbs and opens up your taste buds to more flavorful tastes.
Starting over means more withdrawals and nobody's got time for that!
Pin this image to save for later and share on Pinterest!
(hoover over image and click on P)
Fat Isn't The Enemy To Heart Disease, Sugar Is
Most Americans believe fat needs to be reduced for heart health, but aren't aware that sugar is dangerous. We need to bring more awareness to the addictions to sugar, how they are added in packaged food and offer healthy alternatives.
Eating a diet of healthy, whole nutritious foods, staying physically active and reducing stress will help ensure your heart stays healthy a long time.
Decreasing sugar in your diet can change your life!
Sugar Alternatives to Protect Your Heart Health
There are alternatives out there you can use instead of sugar.
You can watch this video about sugar alternatives here:
I do NOT recommend the artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, the “pink or yellow” packets, etc. These all contain chemicals that have been linked to other health issues such as cancer. Back when I was addicted to Diet sodas, I was experiencing horrible joint pain and brain fog.
Some healthy alternatives are Monk Fruit, Stevia, Erythritol, Coconut sugar, honey, pure maple syrup. (The last 3 are not low in carbs if you are following Keto, which I highly recommend). Read more about the Keto Diet here.
My favorite sugar alternative is powdered erythritol because it has low net carbs and it dissolves easily when mixing, eliminating that grainy texture.
Buy my favorite Powdered Erythritol here
Dr Oz had guest Doctors on his show that agreed with the fact that sugar is the biggest cause of heart disease today and talked about why we should be way more worried about sugar and inflammation than cholesterol.
They also discussed the bad side effects of cholesterol lowering drugs. Makes me mad that my doctor put me on them in my 20's. When I started my healthy journey in my 40's, this was the first prescription I threw away.
Watch the Dr. Oz video here.
I've said this before –
I'm not afraid of dying as much as I am living a long unhealthy and painful life.
Take the necessary steps now to ensure you have an enjoyable life in the years to come!
What is one sugary food you can cut out TODAY to get started? Let me know in the comments. Free Recipes
Want over 23 Keto and gluten free favorites recipes, including a Keto friendly pizza and desserts?
Go grab your recipe free book now!
In conclusion, if you want to protect your heart from heart disease, please reduce or eliminate the sugar in your life. It is hard at first, but once you get over the hump, it will be a new lifestyle that will keep you healthy!
Stay healthy!
Jamie
Remember, I am a health coach, not a licensed medical professional and the advice on this page is from my personal experience, health coach certification training or from the experience of friends or clients. You should talk with your medical professional when seeking advice about a medical condition.
We are a group of volunteers and opening a new
scheme in our community. Your site offered us with valuable information to work on. You have done an impressive job and our whole community will be grateful to you.
I very delighted to find this site on bing, just what I was looking for : D besides saved to bookmarks.
That was an interesting read and something to think about… Sweets are always present in our house… I love you transformation over the years!
Hello and thank you Iryna so much for your comment. I always had sugar around until just this year. I still have a little now and then, but trying so hard to do without. Ketchup is something I haven’t totally given up, but I do buy organic to avoid the hight fructose corn syrup. It’s for sure a hard habit to break. Take care!
Jamie, Thanks for sharing info. I appreciate all the healthy living support.
Carolyn
Thank you Carolyn! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I love sharing and helping others!