Sugar is found in many things, from salt to tobacco, tea bags, toothpaste, vitamin pills, beer. Read labels carefully and watch for hidden sugars. Some of the names sugar comes under are: sucrose, honey, fructose, glucose, dextrose, polydextrose, levulose, maltose, raw sugar, turbinato sugar, maple sugar, galactose, brown sugar, invert sugar, dextrine, barley malt, rice syrup, corn sweetener, corn syrup, confectioner's sugar, sorbitol, mannitol,molasses, date sugar, dextrin, caramel, fruit sugar.

Sugar...so sweet, yet so damaging! These are some of the effects of sugar, from a health point of view:

1. Sugar increases blood pressure, therefore leading to stroke and heart problems.
2. Sugar increases levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and uric acid in the blood, therefore leading to atherosclerosis, stroke, heart attack, gout.
3. Sugar decreases glucose tolerance, which strains the pancreas, leading to hypoglycaemia or diabetes mellitus.
4. Sugar reduces the ability of the white blood cells to destroy bacteria, therefore reducing natural immunity to infection.
5. Sugar increases the blood glucose level, leading to excess fat, leading to the development of certain cancers, such as colon and breast.
6. Sugar increases plaque accumulation on teeth, leading to dental caries and periodontal disease.

Other studies have linked sugar to the development of herpes, yeast infections, menstrual problems, male impotence, memory loss, inability to concentrate, nervousness, negativity, deficiencies of vitamins and minerals, abnormal behavior in kids, insomnia, etc.

Here are some suggestions for reducing sugar intake: -replace candy for snacks with nuts, seeds and popcorn -use fruit juices in cooking -change your diet to a whole food diet and your sugar cravings will reduce -reach for fresh fruit instead of a sweet for dessert or snack -control your intake of sugar in coffee, tea, etc.

As sweet as it may be, refined sugar was locked away in apothecary shops as a dangerous drug during the Middle Ages.