Do you find yourself feeling a little guilty amidst celebrations? We are about to celebrate the first of two ‘sugar-seasons.’
It is a motley crowd at the celebration. Front and centre are our big-bellied Father Christmas and his thin hard-working elves (some on shelves these days). Also featured, is Jesus — with his entourage of angels, shepherds and wise men. And there’s the Grinch.
Sugar Season One lasts 9 days: Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day. For many of us these nine days of get-togethers and celebrations include a pretty hefty sugar/carbohydrate intake. However, the effect of this sugar load barely counts if compared with the longer second sugar season.
Sugar Season Two lasts 356 days: from January 2 to December 23. It is our carbohydrate intake through the rest of the year that really makes the difference. Nature has us store any excess energy intake as fat. This is mostly responsible for the current global pandemic named ‘metabolic syndrome.’ A hallmark of this syndrome is excess energy intake stored as belly fat.
Getting a little more technical (grinchy?), metabolic syndrome is a group of physical issues. They are associated with insulin resistance causing abdominal fat (hang in there with me.) The key features of the syndrome are excess abdominal fat, blood-lipid abnormalities, raised blood pressure, and raised blood glucose levels (still with me?).
If you have several of these teamed up, there is a significantly higher risk of lifestyle-preventable-diseases. Four major ailments are:
• Heart and vascular problems. These include heart attacks and stroke. Poor circulation can compromise wound healing and sexual function.
• Diabetes.
• Liver and kidney disease.
• Sleep Apnoea.
Highlighting these issues is not to be a Grinch. On the contrary, it is to put our choices, and especially the guilts, in perspective.
Enjoying celebration together is part of being a fully alive human. We can celebrate this remarkable season joyfully, knowing that what we do in the 356 days of Season-Two is what makes the significant difference.
So, from the team at Nyuü! we wish you delightful celebrations this Christmas and New year. Look after each other. Enjoy. Stay safe.
See you in Season Two!
