There are so many of us that have to have some form of sugar, no matter what. Grab that box of sweets and chocolate. Grab that bag of treats. Breakfast will be full of sugar, lunch will be full of sugar and even dinner. Snacks and drinks full of sugar span across our day and the night.
This must stop now.
I've seen many young Qur'ān students carrying around energy drinks, sweets, chocolates, and chewing gum. This was the opposite to what I used to do - carry around almonds! Students that wonder why they can't memorise well, should look towards two things: (1) their sugar consumption and (2) their use of social media.
Why is glucose important?
Our body uses glucose, a simple sugar, as a main source of energy. The majority of it comes from the food we eat and travels through our circulation to our cells.
Thinking, memory, and learning are all tightly correlated with blood glucose levels and how effectively the brain uses this fuel. Neurotransmitters, the brain's chemical messengers, are not created if there is insufficient glucose present, for example, and neural transmission is disrupted.
The concentration of sugar can vary widely during the day, and sudden spikes in concentration, known as glucose spikes, can have a negative impact on a variety of factors, including our immune system's health, and other health issues.
Glucose spikes and its harms
Glucose spikes occur when too much glucose enters the bloodstream too quickly.
When our cells are drowning in excess glucose, the mitochondria (the powerhouse of our cells) become overwhelmed and can’t convert the glucose into energy fast enough. This leads to free radicals being released and fat storage (weight gain).
When free radicals are released, a dangerous chain reaction occurs. Anything a free radical comes into contact with can be harmed. This state of excess free radicals (from the excess glucose) are referred to as oxidative stress. The result of oxidative stress includes heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cognitive impairment, and speeds up ageing.
Because your mitochondria fail to keep up with converting glucose to energy (as intended), your other cells starve and your organs may become dysfunctional.
What does this result in?
Short term problems include:
- Chronic fatigue (low energy)
- Constant hunger
- Cravings, meaning you’re not hungry, but when you see (or think about) that delicious dessert, you have to have it anyway (more like an addiction to sweets)
- Compromised immune system
- Migraines (women are twice a likely to have migraines)
- Memory and cognitive function issues (brain fog/forgetfulness)
- Poor sleep (which only makes everything else worse)
- Cold complications
- Harder to manage diabetes
Long terms problems include:
- Acne and other skin conditions
- Aging and arthritis (the more we spike our glucose, the faster we age)
- Alzheimer’s and dementia
- Chronic inflammation is a key factor in chronic degenerative diseases
- In fact, Alzheimer’s is sometimes called type 3 diabetes or “diabetes of the brain”
- Chronic inflammation is a key factor in chronic degenerative diseases
- Cancer risk
- Cancer may begin with DNA mutations caused by free radicals
- Inflammation promotes cancer proliferation
- More insulin allows cancer to spread faster
- People with glucose over 100 mg/dL have over double the likelihood of dying of cancer.
- Depressive episodes
- Gut issues
- Inflammation can cause holes in the gut lining that toxins can then get through (leaky gut syndrome)
- Heart disease
- Infertility
- Insulin resistance
- Fatty liver disease
- Wrinkles and cataracts
That’s a lot of problems!
The impact of sugar on your memory
Sugar affects your focus, crashes your mood, impairs your memory, contributes to higher stress and personality changes. It's a killer.
Aside from killing brain cells, too much sugar in the brain can slow cognitive function and even cause memory and attention problems in seniors. Furthermore, it weakens and damages blood vessels, leading to a decline in mental capacity.
A longitudinal clinical study that spanned over ten years found that individuals with high blood sugar had a much faster cognitive decline rate than individuals with a normal blood sugar range. Those who suffered from type 2 diabetes at the beginning of the study were twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than healthy individuals.
The bottom line is that research continues to reveal associations between high sugar consumption and common mental disorders. Sugar intake from sweet foods and beverages has an adverse effect on long-term psychological health.
What is the solution to avoid all of this?
Either cut out the sugar or reduce it - it's possible to reverse memory issues by reducing your sugar intake. You will feel withdrawal effects but they will soon fade.
But so many of you will say, I can't give up my sugar. According to people like Jessie Inchauspé, and many others, you can still enjoy some sugar.
Jessie recommends that you focus on what you eat, the order in which you eat things, adding greens to all your meals, moving and a lot more.
Your diet and lifestyle itself can help control glucose spikes. For instance, you can reduce your overall glucose spikes by 73 percent if you focus on eating fiber first, protein and fat second, and starches and sugars last. You get the same pleasure of eating the same foods but with a reduced effect on your body.
Have desserts over sweet snacks and have more savoury things. Eat things that are naturally sweet.
If you're memorising the Qur'ān, take a look at when you're having sugar and how much you consume. If you have a major sweet tooth, and you struggle to memorise, you might want to see what happens when you cut out the sugar, bit by bit.
We are commanded in the Qur'ān to eat good, pure and wholesome foods. In fact, in the Qur'ān, the best of purest of foods are linked to the ability to do good deeds. Even more importantly, pure food is one of the things that is highlighted in the story of the young people of the cave.
May Allāh grant us understanding, blessing in our health, wellbeing, and in what we consume.
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