Some Good Info About Sugar

Hi All,

How are you?  How's fall going for you?  It's going pretty good here in Phoenix.  Whew...I think we finally made it thru summer here.  It was a long one.  I hope things are going well, wherever you are reading this.

I've always been interested in healthy living, eating, etc....and...I'm still a work in progress.  I get plenty of rest, meditate, exercise some, feed my mind and spirit, but the one area that I've always struggled with the most is probably food/diet.  My goal right now is to eat healthy portions and healthy food, and not be too strict, but moderate.  Some days I do better than others.

Recently, the topic of sugar came up again and caught my attention.  So I wanted to go back and take a closer look and I'm now also cutting way back on my sugar intake.  Here's some of the info I've found and some things you may want to consider with your own daily diet.

 Basic Facts: Sugar is added to almost all processed foods.  Over the course of a year the average American consumes 150lbs of sugar, (or 3lbs weekly).  That’s 500 extra calories a day.   What benefit do we get from it? None.  It adds no nutritional value to foods, just empty calories; calories that we don’t need.

Here’s the bad news about that; excess sugar intake can affect our health in a very profound and negative way.  

Side effects of excess sugar intake include:

-          anxiety and depression

-          Increased inflammation in the body

-          Decreased function of our immune system

-          higher blood pressure

-          Places stress on the liver and kidneys, and even skin

-          And of course, obesity

-          One study done at UCLA links sugar with a compromise in mental functions; it can actually give us a brain fog.  One recommendation to combat this is having a regular meditation practice.

Recommendations for consuming excess sugar on a daily basis:  For men, no more than 37.5 grams daily and no more than 25 grams a day for women.  Added sugar is; sugar or sweetener added to foods, (not including the natural sugar already existing in the food itself).

There are many benefits of cutting excess and processed sugar from your diet.  Of course if you cut the excess sugar, you immediately reduce the risk of the side effects listed above.  On top of the boost to your immune system:

-          Your skin will thank you – excess sugar is bad for your skin. 

-          You’ll have more energy.  Too much sugar in your diet can make you sluggish.  It acts like a drug and sooner or later, as with drugs, you come down from the "sugar high" and “crash”

-          You’re less likely to develop chronic diseases – sugar is hard on your organs and immunities.

-          You’ll sleep better – and who doesn’t like better, more restful sleep?

Basically, Sugar is like a drug…it's addictive, and you become dependent on it, and you’ll want it all the time.  The more sugar you consume, the more your body will crave it.

An article by Amy Krasner, from the Chopra Center website lists some holistic ways of dealing with the sugar cravings.

-          Keep your blood sugar balanced. You can do this by trying to avoid skipping meals, and include some healthy fats and protein in your meals too, (i.e., avocado, nuts and seeds, olive oil, wild salmon).

-          Healthy upgrades – keep some healthy treats around – for example; when everyone at the office is eating sugary treats, you can dip into your personal stash and have a little dark chocolate or maybe some homemade healthy treats.

-          Incorporate sweet veggies into diet (sweet potato, beets, carrots)

-          Notice your emotions – and deal with them, instead of binging and “eating your emotions.”

-          Get enough sleep.  Studies show a link between lack of sleep and sugar cravings.  People tend to drink more sugary drinks when the sleep less than 8 hours nightly.  Not getting a good nights sleep has been linked to elevated levels of appetite regulating hormone – ghrelin.  Elevated levels of this hormone is associated with higher intakes of carbs and sweets.

-          Check out and get to the root cause.  What is that?  Is there a medical problem?  Are there other issues you're trying to eat away, by eating excess sugar.  Bring in professionals when needed.

There's a lot more we could discuss.  For me - I'm working on removing excess sugar from my diet.  Soda pop is out.  I'm working on cleaning up the diet all the way around.  Some days go better than others....but it's getting better. 

Good luck in your process of taking care of yourself.  I hope it goes well.  Have a fun Halloween and Autumn.  Enjoy the aftermath of a wonderful summer and take care of yourself...you're worth it.

Peace,

Tom

Tom Kreienbrink, Owner/Operator
Holistic Therapy Solutions, LLC
www.HolisticTherapySolutions.weebly.com