By Kathy D’Agati
So often the food you think you love the most is the food that is preventing you from having the life of your dreams. You pay a high price for many of the foods you eat today. Nowhere is that truer than when it comes to sugar.
We LOVE sugar. It is one of the most addictive substances there is. The food companies know this and so they put sugar in everything they can. You will find it in toothpaste, breadcrumbs, medicine, and many other foods that may not even have a sweet flavor. The sugar is added because they know it will cause you to eat or drink more, which means increased sales for them.
Start checking the labels on any of the containers of food that you buy. You will notice that the sugar is always listed in grams. The food companies know we don’t use the metric system in this country and that most people do not know what a gram is. They list it that way so you can’t figure out how much sugar is actually in their products. I am going to teach you the secret code.
Four grams is equal to 1 teaspoon.
Take that information and look at the label of your favorite foods. The average American will have about 48 teaspoons of sugar a day. Most people don’t think they fit into that category until they start reading labels. There are hidden sugars everywhere and they add up quickly.
Some people think the amount of sugar they can eat should be determined by what they weigh. I am here to tell you that sugar is an equal opportunity destroyer. Whether you are fat, skinny, or somewhere in between, sugar is causing you harm.
You need to stop thinking of sugar as a reward. Your body will be able to compensate if you have it occasionally, but when you burden it with too much, you are going to suffer. We all know about diabetes, but did you know that sugar also suppresses your immune system, feeds cancer cells, and promotes premature aging?
And Please – don’t make the mistake of trading in your sugar for artificial sweeteners. They are not only very damaging to your health; they will cause weight GAIN and greatly inhibit your ability to stick to a healthy food plan.
Artificial sweeteners are much sweeter than anything found in nature. Splenda is 600 times sweeter than table sugar and Stevia is 200-300 times sweeter. Evidence shows that exposing your taste buds to these high-intensity sweeteners makes them less receptive to the succulent flavors of fresh, whole foods.
Stay away from sugars and artificial sweeteners and you will be surprised and delighted by the sweet, delicious, and succulent flavors of nature’s bounty.
Next time you get tempted to have a “little treat,” take a second and look at the ingredients. Then decide if that is really what you want to put in your body.
Never settle for cheap, sugary garbage foods. You deserve so much better than that.
Kathy D’Agati is a CGP and Certified Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach specializing in autoimmune disease and metabolic syndrome. She can be reached at: kathy@backtobasicwellness.com