Let’s talk about sugar – yet again

 

I know there has been a lot of sugar talk recently. How bad this white sweet poison is and how fat it makes us. Well, I am not going to negate those facts. All the hidden, extra, highly processed forms of sugar are piling up on our waistlines and are making us sick. From over-eating to emotional eating, diabetes, arthritis, skin issues, cancer to heart disease…you name the disease…sugar can play a big role in its development. However, I also feel that there is quite a bit of confusion still going on when discussing those sticky, sugary bites. It is my opinion that all this sugar panic has been quite a bit abused by one or the other fad diet, pointing the finger at all forms of carbohydrates, making us believe they are our enemy. I am sure you can easily name at least one person who is currently cutting out all or most of those seemingly health-and figure-threatening bad for us c-macronutrients.

Do we really need to fight a battle against all those carbs to come out a better, slimmer person on the other side?

My short answer is no, quite the opposite is actually the case. Unfortunately, all too often such severe restrictive measures of abandoning all forms of monosaccharides and disaccharides from your plate does mainly one thing: it equips you with super strong cravings for all the wrong eats. Yes, we are talking about all those highly processed foods void of health-boosting minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and other nurturing phyto-nutrients. Those bites that are only high in empty calories. Instead of feeling vibrant, balanced and insanely amazing, you are now in for a crazy roller-coaster ride of low blood glucose – a ride you won’t enjoy and neither will anyone around you since you will be irritable, cranky, unable to focus, feel lethargic, low in energy and truly are the opposite of a fun-to-be-around-go-getter. You are fantasizing about endless piles of white pasta, white bread with Nutella or a bag of gummy-bears. No, you have not totally lost the plot or are lacking in willpower. What you are missing out on is a balanced diet including all three macronutrients, you body, mind and soul need to be on top of their wonderful-feel-good-and-look-even-better-world.

Here is my suggestion for you: how would you feel about bringing some true clarity into all of this carbohydrate confusion and then making peace with them once and for all?

The facts are pretty simple: Our bodies do actually need carbohydrates to feel amazing!!! As much as they need healthy fats and different forms of protein. So, now I said it…the big blunt news is out of the bag. However, I am not talking about any carbs, I am talking about this food group in its least unprocessed, the-closer-to-nature-the better–form. Yes, I am referring to all the sugars that form a natural part of your wholefood diet: that is, your wholegrains, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, dairy products, nuts and seeds, vegetables and fruits in all colours of the rainbow, legumes and pulses. Trying to cut out such naturally occurring carbohydrates can have far reaching and not so positive results – to say the least. Did you know that carbohydrates are the preferred fuel for our muscles and the only fuel for our brain? I thought so. So, when your body feels deprived of this important source of energy, it will do everything in its power to mobilise some life-saving carbs. Which you will experience in the form of insanely strong urges to indulge in all those forbidden, white, quick sugar fixes. And since it is kind of a death or life matter, your body will win, the cravings will be too overpowering on a very physical end and totally get the better of you and your insane fad diet. This then spirals a whole new cycle of feelings of guilt, negative self-talk and more cravings for sugar to make yourself feel better. Argh…not a positive mind and body spiral to be in.

So, if healthful carbohydrates are so important for us to feel and be our most vibrant, radiant glowing and thinking self, why have they fallen into such disgrace? And which sugars should we try to reduce or avoid to keep any of those dreaded chronic diseases and inflammation at bay as well as our bellies flat?

It is all actually much less complicated than the food industry makes it out to be or you might have come to believe. What is making our waistlines explode and is boosting those many chronic issues and systemic inflammation in our bodies are all those highly processed added sugars we are often not even aware we are eating. When we indulge in that piece of cake, bar of chocolate or all too tempting deliciously sweet dessert, we know we are consuming sugar. We have made a conscious choice to do so. And most people I know will not choose to do so constantly but occasionally. However, when we are consuming our low-fat yoghurt with cereal that promises to keep us slim and healthy, when we are dining out or trusting those Ueber-eats for dining in, when we are topping our salads with those store-bought sauces and dips, we might have run out of such self-awareness and actually quite oblivious to the fact that we might be stuffing ourselves with more glucose molecules per serve than we could ever imagine. Even without indulging in that piece of cake. It is those sneaky extra sugars that should take most of the blame for our exploding bellies and increased rates of chronic disease as well as inflammation. If it was not already bad enough that many of us are totally over-eating on hidden sugars without even knowing, what makes it all more vicious is the fact that when we are constantly exposed to high doses of added mono-and disaccharides, we stay hooked on the sugary stuff and all we want is more of the next delicious sweet ‘treat’. Just thought I would subtly remind you that sugar does release the same opioids in the brain as love or drugs do. So, it is no surprise really that the more we eat it, the more we want it and the more it makes us vulnerable in more than one sense.

How can you avoid eating such high doses of these extra, free sugar serves without being an expert in nutrition you might ask?

And here comes the empowering fun part. There is a way for you to make an end to all this sugary craze and take back your control over how much glucose, fructose or sucrose you are putting into your mouth. I invite you to become a sugar detective and start reading your labels and in particular your ingredient lists. If sugar or one of the many names of the sweet sticky stuff is mentioned as one of the first 3-5 ingredients, you can be sure that it is high in this processed carbohydrate. Just be aware of the fact that the food industry shows off with insanely impressive creative capabilities when it comes to inventing ever new names for one and the same taste-buds-changing-sweetener: cane juice or crystals, carob syrup, grape mist, fragmentation, corn syrup solids, molasses, fruit juice concentrate, evaporated cane juice diastatic malt, muscovado or sorghum syrup are still all sugar. And while we are at it: don’t let false marketing claims cloud your better judgment either. If your product says low in fat you can be almost certain that it has extra sugar added into it. Unfortunately, the very same is true for many products that are labelled gluten-free. YUK. As a general guideline, in order to stay your healthiest, most radiant slim self, the World Health Organisation recommends for women not to eat more than 5-6 teaspoons of ‘free’ or added extra sugar per day. Sounds like a lot? It does, but they add up quickly. Your favourite ice tea contains for example 6.9 teaspoons of sugars per 500 ml of serving and your vanilla flavoured yoghurt 2.2 teaspoons per 100 grams of serving (the 1.1 teaspoons of natural sugar not included). The tomato or BBQ sauce you are adding onto your plate holds at least 1 teaspoon of this sweet fattening molecule per Tablespoon. Your ‘healthier snack’ aka muesli bar more likely than not accommodates the same amount of sweetener than any of the normal chocolate bars do too, and so does your flavoured instant oatmeal or breakfast cereal. Obviously here is big business going on: there is a lot of money to be made with sugar!!!

Let’s reverse all the sugar craziness and go back to old fashioned goodness. Are you in?

The way I see it all things sugar and carbs have spiralled a bit out of control. Much too many are severely restricting all forms of carbs only to then stuff themselves with more highly processed fattening and sickening unhealthful forms of sugar. I don’t know about you, but in my world, things cannot move further away from enjoying a healthful, balanced diet. So, here is my suggestion: how about going back to eating in a similar way your grandmother would have eaten too? Enjoying wholefoods which are as close to their natural state as possible and reducing those foods we are eating out of packages. Decreasing your added, free sugars will come as a welcome side effect. How about embracing your healthful carbohydrates again as part of your balanced, delicious, make-me-feel-good-and-keep-me-slim-wholesome-life? It seems kind of nuts to avoid all forms of nourishing, sweet fruits because they are high in natural fructose but then having to make up for this by binging on desserts, sweets and chocolates loaded with artificial simple sugars which are harming us. Enjoying your sugars in all their natural state, the way mother earth gave them to us, will not only keep you slim and feeling insanely amazing it will also keep your cravings for processed foods at bay! Best of all it will give you space to actually include those less healthful, empty calorie desserts into your yummy-licious life – but in an empowered, controlled, I-know-what-I-am-doing-to-my-body-and-in-what-amounts-my-body-soul-and-mind-can-deal-with-kind-of-way!

Thanks for engaging yet once again in all this sugar talk. I am kind of as sick of it as you are. But I will keep bringing the subject up as long as it is necessary. I am not okay with us getting fatter, unhappier and unhealthier by the day and being run by sugar instead of YOU running all those sugars. Are you in my naturally sweet friend? Ready to totally glow and own all the awesomeness that makes YOU so insanely wonderful? Let’s do it then, your food world is what YOU make it!!!!

Let’s talk about sugar – yet again

I know there has been a lot of sugar talk recently. How bad this white sweet poison is and how fat it makes us. Well, I am not going to negate those facts. All the hidden, extra, highly processed forms of sugar are piling up on our waistlines and are making us sick. From over-eating to emotional eating, diabetes, arthritis, skin issues, cancer to heart disease…you name the disease…sugar can play a big role in its development. However, I also feel that there is quite a bit of confusion still going on when discussing those sticky, sugary bites. It is my opinion that all this sugar panic has been quite a bit abused by one or the other fad diet, pointing the finger at all forms of carbohydrates, making us believe they are our enemy. I am sure you can easily name at least one person who is currently cutting out all or most of those seemingly health-and figure-threatening bad for us c-macronutrients.

Do we really need to fight a battle against all those carbs to come out a better, slimmer person on the other side?

My short answer is no, quite the opposite is actually the case. Unfortunately, all too often such severe restrictive measures of abandoning all forms of monosaccharides and disaccharides from your plate does mainly one thing: it equips you with super strong cravings for all the wrong eats. Yes, we are talking about all those highly processed foods void of health-boosting minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and other nurturing phyto-nutrients. Those bites that are only high in empty calories. Instead of feeling vibrant, balanced and insanely amazing, you are now in for a crazy roller-coaster ride of low blood glucose – a ride you won’t enjoy and neither will anyone around you since you will be irritable, cranky, unable to focus, feel lethargic, low in energy and truly are the opposite of a fun-to-be-around-go-getter. You are fantasizing about endless piles of white pasta, white bread with Nutella or a bag of gummy-bears. No, you have not totally lost the plot or are lacking in willpower. What you are missing out on is a balanced diet including all three macronutrients, you body, mind and soul need to be on top of their wonderful-feel-good-and-look-even-better-world.

Here is my suggestion for you: how would you feel about bringing some true clarity into all of this carbohydrate confusion and then making peace with them once and for all?

The facts are pretty simple: Our bodies do actually need carbohydrates to feel amazing!!! As much as they need healthy fats and different forms of protein. So, now I said it…the big blunt news is out of the bag. However, I am not talking about any carbs, I am talking about this food group in its least unprocessed, the-closer-to-nature-the better–form. Yes, I am referring to all the sugars that form a natural part of your wholefood diet: that is, your wholegrains, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, dairy products, nuts and seeds, vegetables and fruits in all colours of the rainbow, legumes and pulses. Trying to cut out such naturally occurring carbohydrates can have far reaching and not so positive results – to say the least. Did you know that carbohydrates are the preferred fuel for our muscles and the only fuel for our brain? I thought so. So, when your body feels deprived of this important source of energy, it will do everything in its power to mobilise some life-saving carbs. Which you will experience in the form of insanely strong urges to indulge in all those forbidden, white, quick sugar fixes. And since it is kind of a death or life matter, your body will win, the cravings will be too overpowering on a very physical end and totally get the better of you and your insane fad diet. This then spirals a whole new cycle of feelings of guilt, negative self-talk and more cravings for sugar to make yourself feel better. Argh…not a positive mind and body spiral to be in.

So, if healthful carbohydrates are so important for us to feel and be our most vibrant, radiant glowing and thinking self, why have they fallen into such disgrace? And which sugars should we try to reduce or avoid to keep any of those dreaded chronic diseases and inflammation at bay as well as our bellies flat?

It is all actually much less complicated than the food industry makes it out to be or you might have come to believe. What is making our waistlines explode and is boosting those many chronic issues and systemic inflammation in our bodies are all those highly processed added sugars we are often not even aware we are eating. When we indulge in that piece of cake, bar of chocolate or all too tempting deliciously sweet dessert, we know we are consuming sugar. We have made a conscious choice to do so. And most people I know will not choose to do so constantly but occasionally. However, when we are consuming our low-fat yoghurt with cereal that promises to keep us slim and healthy, when we are dining out or trusting those Ueber-eats for dining in, when we are topping our salads with those store-bought sauces and dips, we might have run out of such self-awareness and actually quite oblivious to the fact that we might be stuffing ourselves with more glucose molecules per serve than we could ever imagine. Even without indulging in that piece of cake. It is those sneaky extra sugars that should take most of the blame for our exploding bellies and increased rates of chronic disease as well as inflammation. If it was not already bad enough that many of us are totally over-eating on hidden sugars without even knowing, what makes it all more vicious is the fact that when we are constantly exposed to high doses of added mono-and disaccharides, we stay hooked on the sugary stuff and all we want is more of the next delicious sweet ‘treat’. Just thought I would subtly remind you that sugar does release the same opioids in the brain as love or drugs do. So, it is no surprise really that the more we eat it, the more we want it and the more it makes us vulnerable in more than one sense.

How can you avoid eating such high doses of these extra, free sugar serves without being an expert in nutrition you might ask?

And here comes the empowering fun part. There is a way for you to make an end to all this sugary craze and take back your control over how much glucose, fructose or sucrose you are putting into your mouth. I invite you to become a sugar detective and start reading your labels and in particular your ingredient lists. If sugar or one of the many names of the sweet sticky stuff is mentioned as one of the first 3-5 ingredients, you can be sure that it is high in this processed carbohydrate. Just be aware of the fact that the food industry shows off with insanely impressive creative capabilities when it comes to inventing ever new names for one and the same taste-buds-changing-sweetener: cane juice or crystals, carob syrup, grape mist, fragmentation, corn syrup solids, molasses, fruit juice concentrate, evaporated cane juice diastatic malt, muscovado or sorghum syrup are still all sugar. And while we are at it: don’t let false marketing claims cloud your better judgment either. If your product says low in fat you can be almost certain that it has extra sugar added into it. Unfortunately, the very same is true for many products that are labelled gluten-free. YUK. As a general guideline, in order to stay your healthiest, most radiant slim self, the World Health Organisation recommends for women not to eat more than 5-6 teaspoons of ‘free’ or added extra sugar per day. Sounds like a lot? It does, but they add up quickly. Your favourite ice tea contains for example 6.9 teaspoons of sugars per 500 ml of serving and your vanilla flavoured yoghurt 2.2 teaspoons per 100 grams of serving (the 1.1 teaspoons of natural sugar not included). The tomato or BBQ sauce you are adding onto your plate holds at least 1 teaspoon of this sweet fattening molecule per Tablespoon. Your ‘healthier snack’ aka muesli bar more likely than not accommodates the same amount of sweetener than any of the normal chocolate bars do too, and so does your flavoured instant oatmeal or breakfast cereal. Obviously here is big business going on: there is a lot of money to be made with sugar!!!

Let’s reverse all the sugar craziness and go back to old fashioned goodness. Are you in?

The way I see it all things sugar and carbs have spiralled a bit out of control. Much too many are severely restricting all forms of carbs only to then stuff themselves with more highly processed fattening and sickening unhealthful forms of sugar. I don’t know about you, but in my world, things cannot move further away from enjoying a healthful, balanced diet. So, here is my suggestion: how about going back to eating in a similar way your grandmother would have eaten too? Enjoying wholefoods which are as close to their natural state as possible and reducing those foods we are eating out of packages. Decreasing your added, free sugars will come as a welcome side effect. How about embracing your healthful carbohydrates again as part of your balanced, delicious, make-me-feel-good-and-keep-me-slim-wholesome-life? It seems kind of nuts to avoid all forms of nourishing, sweet fruits because they are high in natural fructose but then having to make up for this by binging on desserts, sweets and chocolates loaded with artificial simple sugars which are harming us. Enjoying your sugars in all their natural state, the way mother earth gave them to us, will not only keep you slim and feeling insanely amazing it will also keep your cravings for processed foods at bay! Best of all it will give you space to actually include those less healthful, empty calorie desserts into your yummy-licious life – but in an empowered, controlled, I-know-what-I-am-doing-to-my-body-and-in-what-amounts-my-body-soul-and-mind-can-deal-with-kind-of-way!

Thanks for engaging yet once again in all this sugar talk. I am kind of as sick of it as you are. But I will keep bringing the subject up as long as it is necessary. I am not okay with us getting fatter, unhappier and unhealthier by the day and being run by sugar instead of YOU running all those sugars. Are you in my naturally sweet friend? Ready to totally glow and own all the awesomeness that makes YOU so insanely wonderful? Let’s do it then, your food world is what YOU make it!!!!

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