Of all the foods consumed today, refined sugar is considered to be one of the most harmful. ...In 1997 Americans devoured 7.3 billion pounds of candy. Americans spent an estimated $23.1 billion dollars on candy and gum. The average American consumed a record 27.3 pounds of candy and gum in the same year-the equivalent of about six regular sized chocolate bars a week-marking the fifth consecutive year of increased demand.
...Consumption of processed foods (which are laced with sugar) cost the American public more than $54 billion in dental bills each year, so the dental industry reaps huge profits from the programmed addiction of the public to sugar products.
...Today we have a nation that is addicted to sugar. In 1915, the national average of sugar consumption (per year) was around 15 to 20 pounds per person. Today the average person consumes his/her weight in sugar, plus over 20 pounds of corn syrup.
...To add more horrors to these facts there are some people that use no sweets and some who use much less than the average figure, which means that there is a percentage of the population that consume a great deal more refined sugar than their body weight. The human body cannot tolerate this large amount of refined carbohydrates. The vital organs in the body are actually damaged by this gross intake of sugar.
Likewise, the teeth are affected and they lose their components until decay occurs and hastens their loss.
...Refined sugar is void of all nutrients, consequently it causes the body to deplete its own stores of various vitamins, minerals and enzymes. If sugar consumption is continued, an over-acid condition results, and more minerals are needed from deep in the body to correct the imbalance. If the body is lacking the nutrients used to metabolize sugar, it will not be able to properly handle and rid itself of the poisonous residues.
These wastes accumulate through the brain and nervous system, which speeds up cellular death. The bloodstream becomes over-loaded with waste products and symptoms of carbonic poisoning result.
...Diabetes is another commonly known disease caused by sugar as well as a high fat diet. Diabetes is caused by the failure of the pancreas to produce adequate insulin when the blood sugar rises. A concentrated amount of sugar introduced into the system sends the body into shock from the rapid rise in the blood sugar level. The pancreas eventually wears out from overwork and diabetes then rears its ugly head....Hypoglycemia occurs when the pancreas overreacts to the large amount of sugar in the blood and releases too much insulin leaving one with the “tired” feeling as the blood sugar level becomes lower than it should be.
“A recent article in the British Medical Journal, entitled The Sweet Road to Gallstones, reported that refined sugar may be one of the major dietary risk factors in gallstone disease. Gallstones are composed of fats and calcium. Sugar can upset all of the minerals, and one of the minerals, calcium, can become toxic or nonfunctioning, depositing itself anywhere in the body, including the gallbladder.
...“One out of ten Americans has gallstones. This risk increases to one out of every five after age forty. Gallstones may go unnoticed or may cause pain-wrenching pain. Other symptoms might include bloating, belching, and intolerance to foods.”
Become Sugar Free!
Are you that person that can always been found with a cookie in your hand? Are you the one who hovers around the sweets tray at the party, poaching whatever is left, gobbling up anything with any sort of sugar inside? Do you have more than five cavities because you just can’t say no to the sweet stuff? Well you aren’t alone. Hundreds of thousands of people succumb to sugar addictions on a daily basis. Whether it’s the sweet taste of Coca-Cola that you can’t do without or that delicious pie your grandmother makes, all of it is slowly but surely eating away at your body. Fighting sugar addiction is a difficult battle, perhaps even more difficult than stopping tobacco consumption. But you aren’t alone in the world. Here are a few tips to help you overcome your sugar addiction to live a healthy and sugar-free lifestyle and overcome those cravings.
Substitute to Survive...
You may not be aware that white bread contains sugars and further feeds your addiction. If you are a white bread eater, make the switch to wholegrain wheat breads and never look back. Additionally, try to substitute other sugary aspects of your diet, cereals, for instance with oats. Rather than snacking on something like cookies, choose fresh fruit. Making these essential substitutions will help reduce your cravings. At first you may experience frustration and even mood swings (as with battling any other addiction) but making these substitutions should help ease the transition and moderate the intense chemical swings your body will be undergoing.
Change Your Habits...
A large secret to defeating addiction of any kind is to change your habits. For instance, if you drive a certain way to work every day and stop in for doughnuts everyday at the same store, choose an alternate route, even if it is slower. It is highly unlikely you will be able to drive that same route repeatedly without stopping at the store due to the pattern of behavior you have developed. This can extend to many different aspects of your including nightly snacks, cooking, breakfast, etc. Any facet of your life which incorporates sugar intake, seek to eliminate or replace with something healthy.
Replace Your Nutrients...
Cravings are born out of your body’s dependence upon a substance to function the way you instruct it to. Once you teach your body that it needs nicotine to relax and function, it will demand to receive that substance. A sugar craving is no different. The best way to supplant this urge is to meet your body’s demands with healthy alternatives. Chromium deficiency is one area that many who attempt to go sugar-free face. However, chromium can be found in broccoli, cheese, chicken and dried beans. Try replacing the sweets which formerly filled this craving with one of these healthier alternatives.
These three tips are only the beginning to a long war you are about to embark upon. Fighting sugar addiction can be stressful and frustrating, and whether you like it or not, your body and moods will be affected by the denial. However, for your long term the best option is to fight away the urges, introduce new, healthier activities into your life and shun the sugary sweets which you love so dearly.
A Few Tips...
Americans consume 2 to 3 pounds of sugar a week! A low sugar diet plan is likely to decrease the amount of sugar you consume, and reduce your risk for diabetes, heart disease, and a host of other medical problems. You can select a low sugar diet, a diet designed for diabetics, or a low calorie diet, as a means of reducing your sugar intake. You can begin by following these tips for a low sugar diet plan:
Tip #1: Read the Label
The nutritional label lists the ingredients in a product in order. The more of an ingredient there is in the product, the higher up on the list of ingredients it will appear. Do not consume any product where sugar is listed as one of the first 3 ingredients. This applies to all kinds of sugar:
- high fructose corn syrup
- beet sugar
- brown sugar
- raw sugar
- sorbitol
- mannitol
- cane sugar
- corn syrup
- dextrose
- evaporated cane juice
- honey
- maltodextrin
- molasses
- sucrose
- turbinado sugar
- agave nectar
- The sugar industry is constantly coming up with new sugar names. So be on guard for new hidden sugars with insulin spiking ingredients. Naturally Sweet Click Here
Whether it’s a cookie, muffin, or a slice of cake, the size of a serving has grown larger over time. A serving of ice cream now sells as a kiddy cup at most places. If you are having two cookies for dessert, they should be smaller than the size of your hand.
Tip #3: Drink Water
You can add lemon, strawberry, or cucumber to your water, or buy a carbonated, flavored, sugar-free water. Sugary fruit juice should also be avoided. Water is the healthiest drink you can have, and it can be free.
Tip #4: Don’t Add Table Sugar to Foods
If it seems like a drastic measure to eliminate sugar from your coffee, or in your morning cereal, begin by cutting the amount of sugar you add by half. Then reduce that amount by half. Before long you will have adapted to eating and drinking your food without additional sugar.
Tip #5: Keep a Food Diary
Keeping a food diary is a good way to determine whether or not you are eating a healthy, low sugar diet. When you write down everything you eat and drink, you will suddenly remember the large amount of sugar in that latte (the one you forgot was full of sugar)!
Tip #6: Break the Soda Habit
With up to more than 4 tablespoons of sugar in a can of soda, a low sugar diet plan should contain no soda at all. By giving up a single can of soda a week, you can lose a pound a month, without making any other dietary changes. Substitute seltzer or club soda for your sugary, calorie-laden soda.
Tip #7: Substitute and Reduce
You can find many revisions of sugar-laden recipes, or create your own version. Simply reduce the amount of sugar, and see if the food is still tasty. You can often substitute fruit, applesauce, or plain yogurt for sugar and still have a tasty result.
Tip #8: Beware of Hidden Sugar
When you reach for the bread, tomato sauce, ketchup, canned food or diet meal, stop and read the label. Sugar is added to many products, even though it isn’t necessary. Find a brand of the item that doesn’t contain added sugar, and stick to that product.
Hidden Sugars
Some of the major sources of highly refined grains and hidden sugars that cause high glycemic blood sugar problems are: sodas, ketchup, cereals, fruit juice, jams, jellies, canned fruit, prepared foods, ice cream, cookies, candy, cakes, pies, pastries and most other desserts.
Processed starches that behave like sugar in your body are white flour, white rice, pasta (unless the flour is listed as 100% whole wheat), enriched flour, tapioca, cornstarch and processed breakfast cereals.
The most common names for sugar are: barley malt, corn syrup, dextrose, fruit juice concentrate, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, maltose, molasses, raw sugar, sucrose and turbinado sugar.
Tip #9: Rethink Dessert
If you’re not hungry, don’t eat. If you do crave dessert, think fresh fruit or yogurt (without added sugar) instead of sugar-laden cake, cookies, or candy.
Tip #10: Reduce Sugar Cravings
If you eat healthy meals with protein, fiber, whole grains, and complex carbohydrates instead of lots of sugar, you will feel satisfied longer, and eventually reduce your craving for sugar.
Sugar Alcohols
Sugar alcohols, also known as polyols, occur naturally in fruits and berries. These reduced-calorie sweeteners are carbohydrates, but they do not increase blood sugar levels. The body processes polyols slower than cane or corn sugars. Prepackaged snack foods and beverages labeled as sugar-free and no-sugar-added contain sugar alcohols such as malitol, sorbitol, xylitol or HSH, hydrogenated starch hydrolysates. Sugar alcohols, naturally occurring sweeteners, are forms of carbohydrates whereas artificial sweeteners are chemically altered non-food additives.
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