Posted by Larry Hoover on February 6, 2006, at 12:55:05
In reply to SUGAR IS AS BAD AS BENZOS, posted by davpet on January 17, 2006, at 11:46:13
> Sugar causes the exaggerated conversion of tryptophan into serotonin . This unaturally higer level of serotonin down-regulates (desensitises) serotonin receptors . You then need more serotonin to get the same level of serotonin receptor activation . Benzo increases GABA down-regulating GABA .
>
> Stop taking sugar and your normal (lower) amount of serotonin is no longer able to activate your receptors = depression. Suddenly stop taking benzos and all hell will break lose.
>
> Check out this link :
>
> http://www.angelfire.com/folk/naturalife/foodmood.htmlThe problem with simplification of complex systems is that whenever you simplify, you leave something out. Sugar is essential to health. Your brain cannot process any source of energy that is not in the form of sugar.
I went to that link, and I read some rather dramatic statements. I do not find supporting information for those statements. I do not support the conclusions reached.
An example of the hyperbole I read is the following quotation:
"Manufacturers hide sugar and harmful chemicals in processed and fast foods. They know that adding sugar will get you hooked on sugar-addictive foods. Kechup is 30% sugar. There is even sugar in Morton's salt."
So, I mosey on over to Morton's website, and I discover that dextrose is added to the salt to stabilize the iodine that is added to prevent goiter. The dextrose is present at 0.04%. That's 40 milligrams per 100 grams of salt. Hardly anything to get all excited over.
In general, I conclude that the statements made at this site are not logical. They do not follow from the evidence presented.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:600080
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/health/20060202/msgs/606899.html