Do you realize that the average American consumes an astounding two to three pounds of sugar each week? Sugar is disguised in many different forms such as sucrose (table sugar), dextrose (corn sugar), and high-fructose corn syrup. Sugar is used in many foods you wouldn't consider to contain sugar. Sugar is added to bread, mayonnaise, peanut butter, ketchup, spaghetti sauce, and in many microwave meals. Some restaurants even add sugar to their French fry batter. Sugar is used to add or enhance flavor.
In the past 20 years, our sugar consumption has increased to a whopping 26 pounds per person per year! The rate of people with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer have increased as well.
Sugar is an empty-calorie food. It contains zero nutrition. If you want to lose weight, foods containing large amounts of sugar are detrimental to our weight loss, maintenance, and overall health. We are eating less food so it is important to make certain what we eat counts nutritionally to our bodies,
Have you ever noticed that when you eat an item that contains mostly sugar or simple carbohydrates, you want more? You don't feel satisfied. You want more and more. Sugar and simple carbs are not satisfying or allow you to feel full. Eating sugar is a vicious cycle of eating and wanting more resulting in excess calories and weight gain. With you decrease your intake of sugar, you truly lose the taste for it. Lose the habit of sugar for successful weight loss.
The "glycemic index" measures how specific foods affect blood-glucose levels, with food being assigned a numbered rating. The lower the rating, the absorption is slower in the digestive tract process. This slower absorption provides a more gradual, healthier infusion of sugars into our bloodstream. Alternatively, a high rating means blood-glucose levels are injected into our bodies much faster. This "dump" stimulates the pancreas to secrete insulin to drop blood-sugar levels. The drop of blood-sugar levels results in rapid fluctuations which are not healthy because of the stress they place on the body.
Sugar has many negative consequences to impact our health. Some of the dramatic ones are:
* Sugar can suppress the immune system.
* Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
* Sugar can contribute to hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, concentration difficulties, and crankiness in children.
* Sugar can reduce the important high density cholesterol (HDLs).
* Sugar can promote an elevation of harmful cholesterol (LDLs).
* Sugar can cause kidney damage.
* Sugar can increase the risk of coronary heart disease.
* Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
* Sugar can increase fasting levels of blood glucose.
* Sugar can lead to tooth decay and periodontal disease.
* Sugar can speed the aging process.
* Sugar can increase total cholesterol.
* Sugar can contribute to diabetes and osteoporosis.
* Sugar can decrease insulin sensitivity.
* Sugar can dramatically increase the amount of fat in the liver.
* Sugar can cause hypertension.
* Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance.
* Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.
* Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha and theta brain waves, which can alter the mind's ability to think clearly. Sugar may be sweet to consume but the results to our body and health are not so sweet. The ultimate sweetness of all is weight loss success and to enjoy our good health.
When it comes to watching your waistline, you probably already know that you should stay away from certain foods. Of course, saturated fats, high-salt foods, and excess calories probably top the list of what you normally avoid. While these are certainly diet enemies, there is something more you should add to your list of foods to ditch when losing weight, a low sugar diet. Sugar, while technically fat-free, can actually make dieting harder and prevent you from dropping the pounds you want to shed.
When our bodies are properly fueled, they see no need to burn off extra calories and fat. Of course, diets help us get around this by creating a calorie deficit and forcing bodies to burn stored fat. Unfortunately, the production of insulin can confuse this process. Insulin signals to the body that it has enough energy and does not need to tap into fat stores. What does this have to do with sugar? Well, consuming a lot of sugar encourages the pancreas to work harder and make more insulin so that all the energy in the sugar can be used. Sure, this gives you a temporary energy burst, but it also stops your body from burning off extra calories.
To make things worse, after the initial insulin surge from a sugar rush, you are going to experience a "crash." This is because your blood sugar levels will ultimately drop from all the insulin your body pumped out. With low blood sugar, you are likely to feel overwhelming cravings for high-carb and high-fat foods. If you give into these, not only will you increase your caloric intake, but you'll start the entire process all over again. Plus, your energy levels will be so low you are unlikely to workout. Even if you do get to the gym after a post-sugar crash, your workouts will definitely not be top-notch.
So, what foods should you specifically watch out for? Processed foods are the most likely suspects when it comes to excess sugar. Of course, you will probably think to stay away from cookies, cakes, and candies. However, you may overlook other high-sugar products. For instance, many breakfast cereals are loaded with sugar as are many cereal and granola bars. You should also avoid artificial maple syrup, which is nearly pure sugar, and sweetened beverages like soda or fruit punch. Even fruit jams can be loaded with extra sugar. For a healthier choice, choose a no-sugar-added variety of fruit preserves, which contain only natural fruit product.
Remember, though, some foods that are very good for you also contain sugar. In fact, fresh fruits are loaded with natural sugar. However, this sweetness is nothing to fear. Fruits contain an appropriate balance of sugar and fiber. Fiber slows down digestion and absorption, which also slows the flow of insulin into the blood stream. Unfortunately, fruit juice, even 100% natural juice, does not contain fiber because the skin and pulp of the fruit have been removed. Consequently, these juices can cause the same sugar spike as candies and cake.
Ultimately, standard dietary guidelines recommend that you should not consume more than 40g of refined sugar each day. However, if you are trying to lose weight, you will probably want to have even less in your diet. Although our bodies do need some sugar to manage energy appropriately, most of what we need can be found in whole grains, fruits, and natural dairy products. If you consume healthy amounts of these, you should not have any need for added, processed sugar.
Some people may try to eliminate excess sugar by substituting artificial sweeteners. While this limits caloric intake and can prevent insulin spikes, it is ultimately not a very good solution. Studies have shown that artificial sweeteners can actually cause our bodies to crave more sweets. Why does this happen? Well, many such sweeteners are actually several times sweeter than natural sugar. In fact, some can be up to 200 times sweeter. Subsequently, our bodies get used to this level of sweetness and less sweet foods, like fruits, will no longer satisfy sugar cravings. Furthermore, some artificial sweeteners may be linked to harmful diseases like arthritis and cancer.
Cutting excess sugar from your diet can be difficult. Cravings attack when we least expect, and can make it nearly impossible to avoid that candy bowl or cookie jar. Thankfully, these cravings are temporary. The longer you go on a low sugar diet, the less you will want sweets. In fact, you will soon be craving an apple for a sweet treat instead of a brownie. Exercise can also help cut cravings by balancing blood sugar and regulating energy levels. So, if you want to lose weight, make low sugar choices a part of your healthy diet and exercise plan.
Both Cathy Wilson & Robert Harden are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Cathy Wilson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fitness, Lose Weight and Fitness. Cathy Wilson is a weight loss life coach. Cathy lost 147 pounds six years ago. Her passion is helping clients achieve their weight loss and life goals. Cathy works with clients to create a weight loss life plan that is customized to each client. Cathy is. Cathy Wilson's top article generates over 90500 views. to your Favourites.
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