How sweet it is… NOT !

Jan 2, 2013 and I’m not playing around…  Lets talk about SUGAR..

And since you already know my ‘style’.. I will get straight to the point!

Sugar is really bad for you.. I know I know.. Our bodies need glucose (pretty word for simple sugar) to survive right?  And its already  present in our bloodstream, liver and also our muscles use it as energy..   ALL true.. but .. did you know that  too much sugar  = more stored fat, more risk of diabetes, more risk of heart disease, skin issues , cancer (yep cancer loves sugar) and a great chance for obesity too..

So what to do??    If you do nothing new in this new year.. Reading your food label for the sugar content is the best possible change you can make for your health in 2013..

My basic advice… since a gram of sugar has about 4 calories ( Im rounding up for you scientific types)  if you are a woman.. a nice figure of 100 calories, or about 25 grams, (6 tsp)  of ADDED sugar per day is just enough..  for a man my basic conversion would be 150 calories, or about 37 (ish)  grams (9 tsp)  of  ADDED sugar per day… and here’s how you do that.

First of all …KNOW  what you eat..I always inform about a  CLEAN ‘diet’.. what does that mean to me?  No packaging..  yes.. just a basic CLEAN diet of fresh fruits and veggies, lean meats , whole grains and beans….. and if you want a muffin or a cookie.. make it yourself.. you will know exactly what’s in it..

Okay, its not realistic you say ( I can hear you).. so here’s a solution.. READ labels and know how much sugar you are eating..… YES, if you MUST eat something out of a package.. keep your grams of sugar per serving around 9 (or less, to be really good) .. which is roughly 36 calories of sugar,  if you are doing the math..  Oh.. and keep in mind too that  packaged products have  all kinds of hidden sugars.. (see list below)  so don’t just look for the word  sugar.. you must read the grams PER serving….

No one said this was going to be easy..  this is harder than you will imagine.. BUT  imagine this.. if you start reading your packaging ..and start thinking about sugar just a little bit.. EVERYTHING may just change for you..

Unknowingly ( well, just by keeping sugars at bay) you will lose a few lb’s, you will have more energy, no doubt ( don’t think of the sugar high.. its not sustainable energy) and you will feel better.. overall.

Oh..and for those that say I cant find any food product with just 9 grams of sugars or less per serving… my response to you….  DUHHHHHH  .. Manucturers know how very addictive sugar is.. . The more our body has, the more it wants.  ChaCHING!

YOU need to be aware and smarter than those manufacturers.. which is exactly why I wrote this blog post.

Now I know that you may not change your sugar intake  over night.. but at least now you are thinking about it.. armed with a little information too… right?

Hey, for fun..  if you have kids.. try  limiting their sugar intake!  (umm.. they eat what you buy them)   You will be surprised if you do..  they will NOT crave sugar like the other kids .. and believe it or not.. they will taste the sugar in some of the packaged products when they do  eat it.. they may just  start to  and say the food is too sweet. YES its possible..

Oh and one more thing.. ( I cant figure out how to edit this blog .. lots I can write about).. when you are juicing.. if you do juice… remember .. MORE veggies / less fruits..   YES even fresh fruit juice can be bad.. if you have too much.

AND don’t worry.. ( if you are? LOL )  I have not forgot about ‘fake’ sugar or sugar substitute.. I really need to get my day started.. I’ll be writing about that soon..

Create a great day..

NOTE:

Here are a few words that you may not know are actually  SUGAR

Lactose: Sugar from milk.   think  “Lactose intolerance”

Maltose: Sugar from malt

Fructose: Sugar from fruit

Dextrose: Sugar from starch    ie:  “corn sugar”

Sucrose: Refined sugar from sugar cane or beets