Sugar Highs - Do They Really Exist?

On Halloween night and many other sugar-coated occasions, many of us will be experiencing lots of candy going into little bags already full of little sugary treats. However, once the night is over and the candy trading negotiations are almost over, the little business people soon become a little wild. Many believe this spike in energy involves a beloved rush, or a 'sugar high' per se. But on the contrary, as many scientists now believe, there really is not a sugar 'high' at all. If a person were to do a little research on their own, they will find that a sugar 'high' may just be caused by the highs and lows caused by the body's regulatory activities as it desperately tries to achieve a balance of glucose in the blood.

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The human brain is fueled by the blood sugar, glucose. In fact, it takes around 20% of all the carbohydrates we put into our body to run it. However, the brain is a little picky about how it likes to take in all the sugars. It prefers to take in a steady stream rather than spikes and constant rushes. The major rushes of sugar into the blood is caused by intake of simple carbohydrates often found in candy, soda, corn syrup and processed flour products. These foods will cause wild 'ups and downs' as the sugar is instantly transported into the bloodstream. This rapid rise causes a rush of another kind. As the balance of sugars in the blood goes off-kilter, the pancreas begins to rush out insulin which pushes sugars out of the bloodstream and into tissues causing an 'sugar low' enough to cause a kid to start singing John Lee Hooker songs, or even 'The Candyland Blues'. This experience is caused by the lunging sugar levels also known as hypoglycemia.

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Once hypoglycemia kicks in, this is when the next rise in energy occurs from the release of adrenal hormones that begins to take stored sugars in the liver out into the blood to restore the, now too low, blood sugars back to a normal level. This could be interpreted by some as a 'sugar high'. With all of this up and down activity taking place, something else is affected. The highs and lows of blood sugar and adrenal hormones can cause an imbalance in the body's neurotransmitters. This imbalance will cause individuals to feel irritable, fidgety, inattentive, and sleepy and so on. So overall, it is obviously not the sugar itself that causes the ups and downs associated with sugar intake; it is our own adrenal hormones and blood sugars being regulated. There was once a myth a long, long time ago when individuals thought sugar was within the same company of other drugs which we commonly refer to as narcotics.

So before your little costumed pirate on Halloween suddenly becomes a handful after relishing the 'booty' from their latest found treasure, it may be a good idea to help ration some of the 'goods' or maybe even get a little for yourself. Understandably, most of these little ones tend to horde all the good stuff for themselves while sticking you with the little random generic peanut bar thingy. That's ok. It should be a parent's responsibility to watch the young ones enjoy their big night and take a few pictures too. But, if things tend to get a little wild soon thereafter, it is not because of a 'high', but their little blood sugar levels going up and down. Don't say we didn't warn you!

Sugar Highs - Do They Really Exist?

S. Michael Windsor is currently publisher and a writer for NaturalAsthmaRemedies.net which features daily exclusive articles based on improving the things which matter most in our daily lives. Visit us today at http://www.NaturalAsthmaRemedies.net and subscribe for free!

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