Make your Yuletide even merrier by doing this one simple thing

If you’re a regular reader of mine, then this latest news won’t surprise you one bit.  

And really, it shouldn’t surprise anyone. But if I’ve learned anything in my 30-some years of practice, it’s that nearly everyone underestimates the deadliness of sugar until the consequences smack them right in the face. (And often times, not even then.)  

Well, here comes another sucker punch: New research out of Spain showed that elevated blood sugar predicted illness severity in every patient admitted to the hospital for COVID-19… whether they were diabetic or not.   

A red flag for everyone 

This study looked at more 11,000 Spanish patients hospitalized with COVID-19 between March and May of this year. And it found that high blood sugar upon admission was an independent predictor that a patient would progress to critical condition and death—regardless of diabetes history.  

If patients had abnormally high blood sugar, they were twice as likely to die from the virus compared to patients with normal blood sugar. They were also more likely to require ventilators and to be admitted into an intensive care unit (ICU).  

Of course, this isn’t the first research linking high blood sugar with poor COVID outcomes. But it is the largest study to examine this association so far. And it’s particularly stunning in that it showed that even non-diabetics faced a dramatically higher risk of dying from COVID-19 if their blood sugar tested above 140.  

More specifically… 

• Patients with blood sugar above 180 faced a 41.1 percent risk of dying. 
• Patients with blood sugar between 140 and 180 faced a 33 percent risk of death. 
• Patients with blood sugar below 140 faced a 15.7 percent risk of death.  

I’d call that a pretty vital predictor of potential COVID-19 death, wouldn’t you? And yet the world keeps spinning, while we keep sipping our sugar-laden drinks and munching on processed, carb-laden snacks.  

Kick your nasty habit—today 

This research is yet another reason why I focus so heavily on the importance of addressing the full array of COVID-19 co-morbidities, like obesity and diabetes, so often.  

Something as simple as keeping your blood sugar low will help protect you from dying—from heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. And now, perhaps from coronavirus, too. 

So, it’s time to kick your nasty sugar habit once and for all. Good health begins and ends with a good diet. No supplement or medication in the world can override poor dietary choices. 

In other words, you can’t just eat an occasional salad, pop a few pills, and call it a day. Proper nutrition is not something that can be taken lightly. You have to be committed… every single day. 

Yes, it is okay to indulge every once in a while. For me, it’s on special occasions like Thanksgiving or Christmas, or even my birthday. But, after those indulgences, I am right back on track. I don’t let it set me back, and neither should you.  

We are only going to start seeing a healthier population when people truly understand that sugar kills… and resolve to do something about it. 

People will give up alcohol and cigarette smoking, but when I propose giving up sugar, they look at me as if I have three heads. Well, maybe these latest numbers will help doctors and patients alike wake up and smell the cotton candy.  

And yes, I’m including the doctors in this. Because when a diabetic patient shows up at the hospital with high blood sugar, treatment to get things back under control is started immediately. And yet, if a non-diabetic shows up with iffy numbers, they’re often completely overlooked. Which is practically criminal considering that at least a quarter of all people with diabetes don’t even know they have it. 

But I won’t bore you with more statistics today. Because these latest numbers paint a clear picture. And they should convince you cut sugar from your diet immediately… at least until the pandemic is behind us—and hopefully, for the rest of your life.  

If nothing else, maybe you’ll consider swapping Santa’s milk and cookies tonight for a hot cup of coffee and a handful of almonds instead. 

P.S. There will always be those naysayers who insist that sugar—or any type of food, for that matter—isn’t really addictive. Well, it’s time for those naysayers to change their tune, because an ever-growing mountain of evidence suggests otherwise. In fact, it shows that sugar does in fact rewire regions within the brain that control your behavior—and not in a good way. You can learn all about it in the September 2018 issue of my monthly newsletter, Logical Health Alternatives (“The dangerous way sugar rewires your brain”). Not yet a subscriber? Click here to become one today! 

Source: 

“Blood Glucose on Admission Predicts COVID-19 Severity in All.” Medscape Medical News, 11/30/2020. (medscape.com/viewarticle/941716)