It seems as though sugar is in everything these days, from ketchup to salsa to soup. It's in everything, I suppose, because we have come to expect it to be.And it's not just the white stuff we need to worry about. "Refined carbohydrates," such as white bread and white flour products, produce the same reaction in our bodies.Researchers have linked sugar consumption to everything from cavities to wrinkly skin, as well as wide range of much more serious health problems.[]
So where exactly is this unneeded sugar found in? Milk, bread, rice, chips, candy bars, soda, fast food, processed foods and the list goes on and on.Milk contains lactose, a sugar that will be stored in your body as fat if you consume too much of it. Cereals, cookies, fast food, processed foods and soda contain high fructose corn syrup, which can be addictive. The more you eat, the harder it is to stop, and when you do stop, prepare to undergo a sugar withdrawal.
Sugar in wheat bread was a big surprise to me. If you look at regular wheat bread, you might find that it contains high fructose corn syrup in its ingredients. Why in bread? High fructose corn syrup helps to preserve it longer and gives it a better taste, and its addictive.The consequences of eating dozens of pounds of sugar a year are obesity, stress, cardiovascular disease, cancer and death. What's worse is that all this sugar is getting in the way of the messages that the body is trying to send to our brain. Those "I'm full" messages are drowned out by the over consumption of sugar.
Like any addiction, you can fight it off and get back on track to feeling like yourself again. Take advantage of natures options for cleansing the body of those toxins. Chlorophyll has detoxifying agents that help to reduce the craving for bad carbs. Taken twice a day, you will cleanse your body and help to create a balance of chemicals so that your body functions like it was designed to.
Keep notes on your sugar intake in your journal or Daytimer. How does decreasing your sugar levels impact your energy levels? Your mood during the day? Your ability to fall asleep at night? When do sugar cravings hit? It might be helpful to start with a Sugar Fast for a day or two. See how one day without added sugars affects you.Make easy substitutions. Buy brown rice instead of white rice, for example. Brown rice has a nice, nutty flavor, and takes just a bit longer to cook. The next time you go to the store, experiment with all kinds of whole grain alternatives. You might find some new family favorites.Keep healthy snacks readily available, and rely on a bit of protein in your snacks to keep your energy levels high. Keep a small bowl of nuts on the table, along with fresh fruits. When you are hungry for a mid afternoon snack, opt for lean protein and complex carbs.
Indulge in moderation. If you are a chocoholic, treat yourself to a square of fine chocolate at the end of a long day. When the chocolate is quality, you won't feel the need to have more and you'll be more apt to take your time and savor it. When you do indulge in a sugary snack, keep it small, eat it slowly, and eat a bit of protein, too, to help moderate those blood sugar spikes and dips.Dilute the fruit juice. If you or kids love fruit juice, try diluting it gradually to the point where you are just adding a splash to the top of water.Become a sugar detective. You can start by knowing the alternate names for added sugars, often found in ingredients lists. These include any ingredient that ends in the suffix "-ose," including sucrose, dextrose, fructose, lactose, polydextrose, maltose, and galactose. Also, look for the following: corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, honey, maple syrup, molasses, carob syrup, turbinado sugar, fruit juice concentrate, brown sugar, cane juice, cane sugar, evaporated cane juice, beet sugar, and sorbitol.
Avoid replacing added sugar with artificial sweeteners. Your best bet is to gradually reduce your taste for sweet foods, not to replace them with chemical alternatives. On ingredients lists, look for sucralose, saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame K, and neotame.Avoid the center of the supermarket as much as possible. That's where most of the processed foods are shelved. Instead, shop the perimeter for healthy, raw foods. If you have young kids, go to the grocery store by yourself. You may be less apt to come home with sugary treats. Plus, you can take more time to examine the labels for hidden sugar. If your kids are grade school age or older, take them along and enlist their help as Sugar Detectives. Give them each a list of hidden sugars and artificial sweeteners and turn it into a game.
Sugar dependency is along the same lines as addiction to smoking, gambling or alcohol. Anxiety, depression and phobias are some emotional imbalances that can be connected to sugar addiction. Sugar causes an immediate gratification making the person that's addicted feel like they can't live without it. The down part is that the good feeling doesn't last long. In a short, you go from being energetic to feeling tired. You may have tried to give up sugar because you wanted to lose weight or avoid illnesses. This might trigger the same withdrawal symptoms as some drug addicts experience. Some symptoms are sweating, trembling, weakness and dizziness.
There is hope for stopping your sugar addiction. First, you need to admit to yourself that you have a problem. Something that tastes so good and makes you feel better will make it hard to for you to think there is anything wrong. Don't try to fool yourself into thinking brown sugar or raw sugar is fine to eat. Brown sugar is only made brown because molasses are added to it. It is still regular sugar. Raw sugar is crystalized and refined white sugar. It has a tiny amount of molasses added to it. These kinds of sugars are also unhealthy for your body.
Be careful not to make sugar taboo in your household. With children, especially, when you swear off something completely, you run the risk of creating a mystique around the forbidden food. Instead of running a completely sugar free household, make sure your children understand the effects that sugar can have on their bodies and their moods, and then help them understand the beauty of moderation. Encourage them to eat low fat protein and help them develop a taste for healthy whole grain carbs. Focus on well balanced, nutritious diet, instead of simply swearing off all sugar. Your cravings will slowly and naturally fade once you gain a better understanding of why they are cropping up in the first place.
So where exactly is this unneeded sugar found in? Milk, bread, rice, chips, candy bars, soda, fast food, processed foods and the list goes on and on.Milk contains lactose, a sugar that will be stored in your body as fat if you consume too much of it. Cereals, cookies, fast food, processed foods and soda contain high fructose corn syrup, which can be addictive. The more you eat, the harder it is to stop, and when you do stop, prepare to undergo a sugar withdrawal.
Sugar in wheat bread was a big surprise to me. If you look at regular wheat bread, you might find that it contains high fructose corn syrup in its ingredients. Why in bread? High fructose corn syrup helps to preserve it longer and gives it a better taste, and its addictive.The consequences of eating dozens of pounds of sugar a year are obesity, stress, cardiovascular disease, cancer and death. What's worse is that all this sugar is getting in the way of the messages that the body is trying to send to our brain. Those "I'm full" messages are drowned out by the over consumption of sugar.
Like any addiction, you can fight it off and get back on track to feeling like yourself again. Take advantage of natures options for cleansing the body of those toxins. Chlorophyll has detoxifying agents that help to reduce the craving for bad carbs. Taken twice a day, you will cleanse your body and help to create a balance of chemicals so that your body functions like it was designed to.
Keep notes on your sugar intake in your journal or Daytimer. How does decreasing your sugar levels impact your energy levels? Your mood during the day? Your ability to fall asleep at night? When do sugar cravings hit? It might be helpful to start with a Sugar Fast for a day or two. See how one day without added sugars affects you.Make easy substitutions. Buy brown rice instead of white rice, for example. Brown rice has a nice, nutty flavor, and takes just a bit longer to cook. The next time you go to the store, experiment with all kinds of whole grain alternatives. You might find some new family favorites.Keep healthy snacks readily available, and rely on a bit of protein in your snacks to keep your energy levels high. Keep a small bowl of nuts on the table, along with fresh fruits. When you are hungry for a mid afternoon snack, opt for lean protein and complex carbs.
Indulge in moderation. If you are a chocoholic, treat yourself to a square of fine chocolate at the end of a long day. When the chocolate is quality, you won't feel the need to have more and you'll be more apt to take your time and savor it. When you do indulge in a sugary snack, keep it small, eat it slowly, and eat a bit of protein, too, to help moderate those blood sugar spikes and dips.Dilute the fruit juice. If you or kids love fruit juice, try diluting it gradually to the point where you are just adding a splash to the top of water.Become a sugar detective. You can start by knowing the alternate names for added sugars, often found in ingredients lists. These include any ingredient that ends in the suffix "-ose," including sucrose, dextrose, fructose, lactose, polydextrose, maltose, and galactose. Also, look for the following: corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, honey, maple syrup, molasses, carob syrup, turbinado sugar, fruit juice concentrate, brown sugar, cane juice, cane sugar, evaporated cane juice, beet sugar, and sorbitol.
Avoid replacing added sugar with artificial sweeteners. Your best bet is to gradually reduce your taste for sweet foods, not to replace them with chemical alternatives. On ingredients lists, look for sucralose, saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame K, and neotame.Avoid the center of the supermarket as much as possible. That's where most of the processed foods are shelved. Instead, shop the perimeter for healthy, raw foods. If you have young kids, go to the grocery store by yourself. You may be less apt to come home with sugary treats. Plus, you can take more time to examine the labels for hidden sugar. If your kids are grade school age or older, take them along and enlist their help as Sugar Detectives. Give them each a list of hidden sugars and artificial sweeteners and turn it into a game.
Sugar dependency is along the same lines as addiction to smoking, gambling or alcohol. Anxiety, depression and phobias are some emotional imbalances that can be connected to sugar addiction. Sugar causes an immediate gratification making the person that's addicted feel like they can't live without it. The down part is that the good feeling doesn't last long. In a short, you go from being energetic to feeling tired. You may have tried to give up sugar because you wanted to lose weight or avoid illnesses. This might trigger the same withdrawal symptoms as some drug addicts experience. Some symptoms are sweating, trembling, weakness and dizziness.
There is hope for stopping your sugar addiction. First, you need to admit to yourself that you have a problem. Something that tastes so good and makes you feel better will make it hard to for you to think there is anything wrong. Don't try to fool yourself into thinking brown sugar or raw sugar is fine to eat. Brown sugar is only made brown because molasses are added to it. It is still regular sugar. Raw sugar is crystalized and refined white sugar. It has a tiny amount of molasses added to it. These kinds of sugars are also unhealthy for your body.
Be careful not to make sugar taboo in your household. With children, especially, when you swear off something completely, you run the risk of creating a mystique around the forbidden food. Instead of running a completely sugar free household, make sure your children understand the effects that sugar can have on their bodies and their moods, and then help them understand the beauty of moderation. Encourage them to eat low fat protein and help them develop a taste for healthy whole grain carbs. Focus on well balanced, nutritious diet, instead of simply swearing off all sugar. Your cravings will slowly and naturally fade once you gain a better understanding of why they are cropping up in the first place.
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