With school now back in full swing, your child will again be exposed to all of those germs in a crowded classroom.  Why is it that some children seem to catch them all, while others hardly ever get a sniffle?  Perhaps it has to do with the strength of the child’s immune system and the speed with which it can make antibodies and kill germs.

Sugar is especially destructive to children who come into contact with many more germs than adults, and whose little bodies are constantly needing whole nutrients in large amounts to feed their growing bodies.  Unfortunately, sugar does not provide any nutrients but places a tremendous nutritional burden on the body and at the same time, it disables certain parts of the immune system.

Studies have revealed that if you drink a coke or eat ice cream (either one contains 6 teaspoons or more of sugar depending on serving) 45 minutes later your white cells will only pick up and eliminate an average of 10 germs…a loss of 25 to 30% of your first line immune system defense.  If your child eats sugar cereal for breakfast, his/her white cells are virtually paralyzed by 9 a.m. and will not recover until 1 p.m….unless he/she eats more sugar at mid-morning break or lunch.  If he/she drinks a sugar-sweetened drink after school, then he/she might walk around all day long virtually unprotected by an immune system.

But that’s not all.  Sugar destroys cells. and it destroys first those most sensitive to blood sugar fluctuations.  William Dufty, in his book Sugar Blues, states, “Since the cells of the brain are those that depend wholly upon the moment-to-moment blood sugar level for nourishment, they are perhaps the most susceptible to damage.”

In the book “Get The Sugar Out” by Ann Louise Gittleman M.S. C.N.S Ms. Gittleman says, “No matter what form it takes, sugar paralyzes the immune system in a variety of ways: Here is her list:
1.  Sugar has been proven to destroy the germ-killing ability of white blood cells for up to five hours after ingestion.
2.  It reduces the production of antibodies, proteins that combine with and inactivate foreign invaders in the body
3.  It interferes with the transport of vitamin C, one of the most important nutrients for all facets of immune function.  ( Humans are not able to turn sugar into vitamin C as other animals can. According to Jim Howenstine, M.D., glucose and ascorbic acid compete with one another. So a diet high in sugar means lower levels of vitamin C.)
4.  It causes mineral imbalances and sometimes allergic reactions, both of which weaken the immune system.
5.  It neutralizes the action of essential fatty acids, thus making cells more permeable to invasion by allergens and microorganisms.”
We all know that eliminating sugar entirely from your child’s diet (or even our own!)  is not probably an option.   Just understanding how insidious sugar can be for all of us is a good start.  I just listened to a great talk about this subject and wanted to share it with you.  Just go here to listen.  I would love to hear your feedback about this.  While you are at this site you might observe the incentives I offer for listening to these great audios on a wide variety of health topics.  Just let me know if you are interested.

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