Sugar...what a topic.
Whether you are Paleo, Raw, Vegan, Pescetarian there is one thing most of us will agree on, sugar is definitely a problem, some might even go as far as referring to it as "legal Cocaine" and I must say I agree with this statement.
First of all, lets look back at nutrition advice given to you 20 or 30 years ago. At the time sugar was not a primary concern of many people. The main concern back then was fat. Nuts, oils, it didn't matter. Fat was fat. Fat we were told was bad. Often Healthy fats, such as the fat found in peanut butter was replaced with sugar, or worse yet, Olestra.
What did we get out of this? More diabetes, obesity, heart disease, etc.
And yet, people STILL stick to the old ways of thinking.
One problem with sugar is that there is sugar in just about everything at the grocery store. I went to buy my 9 month old baby crackers and saw that sugar was the second ingredient. I decided NOT to buy it for her...despite the fact that the crackers were recommended to me by a public health nurse.
There is sugar in salad dressings, there is sugar in crackers, there is sugar in bread, there is sugar in ALL flavored yogurts, most cereals, etc. and its becoming more and more difficult to find products WITHOUT the added sugar. WHAT A SHAME!
I find that people aren't aware of where sugar is hidden. Sure, we know its in candy bars and ice cream, but how many people can stomach the bland taste of plain yogurt? How many people put balsamic vinegar on their salads?
And on the other hand how many people send their children to school with store bought granola bars? How many people have cereal for breakfast? 80 percent of grocery store items have added sugar!
The list goes on and on.
I once read an article in Mac Lean's magazine talking about how children now are consuming more sugar by the age of 8 today then they would have consumed in their ENTIRE lifetime 100 years ago. The list goes on to tell how much sugar Canadians eat, compared to how much they SHOULD eat. The results are alarming to say the least.
Woe to the average Canadian, who almost reaches the WHO’s upper 10 per cent limit with just one can of regular pop, and gets within spitting distance of the five per cent lower cutoff after a four-ounce serving of regular Activia yogourt. Still, they wouldn’t know it from checking the nutrition information listed on the product. On the “nutrition facts” panel on Canadian food labels, the grams of sugar in a serving is listed. But what percentage that represents of our daily intake remains a vacant space, as it does in the U.S. Health Canada doesn’t set a recommended limit on sugar consumption (although it says it’s reviewing the WHO’s proposal). A number of experts and groups, like the Childhood Obesity Foundation, are calling on Health Canada to set a daily recommended sugar limit.“It’s so revealing of how the processed-food companies are more powerful than the regulators, supposedly watching them on our behalf,” says Michael Moss, Pulitzer prize-winning author of Salt Sugar Fat: How The Food Giants Hooked Us. “Look at that nutrition fact box—there’s a huge gaping hole next to sugar. They’ll tell you how much is in the product, but not how much is added, and how much is natural. And they won’t tell you how much sugar to eat.”
I know for a fact that if my well meaning parents hadn't followed the old school food pyramid, void of healthy fats, and full of empty carbs and sugar I would have done a lot better in school, had less temper tantrums, and been happier.
For school I would have a jam sandwich (peanut butter is fattening) (Luckily my parents were smart about the bread...we never ate white) a store bought granola bar with as much sugar as a chocolate bar, pretzels, fruit juice, and a piece of fruit. At the time this was considered a very healthy lunch (when comparing to other children's lunches, pizza pops and cookies any one?)
But now, not so much.
Despite all this chaos, we CAN avoid sugar, (NOT the sugar in fruit!) Especially high fructose corn syrup and refined, white sugar.
And that healthy vitamin C rich glass of orange juice my friend? SUGAR! How does one explain to people that when you separate fruit from fiber (especially when it is about 8 oranges a glass), your pancreas must work overtime to process all the sugar from the fruit.
Whats wrong with water?
My Tips:
Make your own salad dressings, or stick to balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice, or purchase one from the health food store after ensuring there is no added sugar
Make your OWN granola bars, store bought ones are garbage!
Purchase all natural peanut or other nut butters, look at the ingredient list
Avoid jam, or make your own fruit preserve
Avoid putting sugar in coffee YOU DON'T NEED IT!, if you must, a squirt of honey is much better, or sip on fruit tea instead to curb that craving
Make your own granola cereal or museli, or look for healthier brands such as Bob's or Ezekial grain cereal
Make your own bread or purchase it from the health food stores, once again, ezekial grains are what I live by.
Know that taking something obviously unhealthy, such as ice cream, and turning it into something healthier such as frozen yogurt (especially when fat is removed) means an excess of sugar
Purchase PLAIN yogurt, by plain I do NOT mean vanilla, then add some vanilla, cinnamon, and if you must, a dash of date powder, coconut powder, or honey, and fresh fruit
Like mochas? Try making your own simply by heating up almond or coconut milk, and adding all natural cocoa powder
If you crave sugar, have fruit, and some protein.
Be extremely careful with processed foods, stick to healthier brands such as nature's path, or avoid them altogether, if you can.
Do NOT drink juice, even if there is no sugar added. The problem with all natural juice (even if you juice fruit yourself) is that the fiber is separated from the natural sugar of the fruit, and your pancreas must now work over time. A glass of OJ is the same as drinking a coke! If you can't stomach plain water, try using an herbal tea bag to flavor your water.
Get into spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg
Trash that 80s health food guide you keep lying around
Oh and by the way, the non fat ice cream or frozen yogurt you treat yourself to now and then? Worse than ice cream alone! If you must eat it, try ice cream made from coconut or almond milk, with natural sweetener,
See, you CAN avoid all this unnecessary garbage in your daily lifestyle
I was once addicted to sugar, I cringed when I tasted plain yogurt, I needed an extra sprinkle of sugar on my cereal in the morning, I sprinkled spoonfulls of sugar in my coffee (I thought I was healthy by choosing sugar before cream...give up the fat but not the sweetness)
What a waste!
I now feel so much better after realizing that my fear of fat was unnecessary, and that sugar was the cause of my problems.
Eliminating fat from my diet actually worsened these problems.
I have lost 50 pounds with the help of avoiding sugar!
You can do it to.
