Month: March 2016

Processed Sugar

blog posts

 

What a hot topic! Nearly every food we encounter, whether “healthy” or not, has added sugar. And that’s really a shame that the food industry has gone to such extremes to get us hooked on their products… emphasis on products, not food.

When I was in college, I was seeking ways to get lean and toned over the summer before heading into a new season of swimming. I knew that no “diet” was going to cut it for a college athlete heavily in training, so I wanted some simple ways to clean up my nutrition. Man, do I wish I learned what I know now sooner.

One of the simple rules of thumb is to be mindful of sugar and to try to stay under 10g per serving of whatever I was having. Sounds easy, right? EVERYTHING has sugar! And not just some sugar- tons of sugar. Although this is now how I prefer to eat, it was extremely hard to navigate at first. I now feel so much better overall and I don’t get those high-energy/ high-crash spikes anymore. I challenge all of you to try it.

Processed sugar= high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, starch syrup, dextrose, maltodextrin, sorbitol, and 56 others names.

To much of my surprise:
Per Serving (which, by the way, who follows that?):
Chobani Flip PB&J- 20g
Chobani Black Cherry- 16g
Honest Green Tea- 19g
Pure Leaf Tea Sweetened- 42g
Nature Valley Oats & Honey Protein Granola- 12g
Nutella- 21g
Gatorade- 21g
Bolthouse Farms Green Goodness Smoothie- 26g
QuakerOats Instant Oatmeal Packet Maple Brown Sugar- 12g

~Fun Fact~
4g of sugar = 1 teaspoon

Starbucks lovers read no further….
In a Grande:
Starbucks Black Tea Lemonade (yum!)- 31g
Starbucks Iced Coffee Sweetened- 20g
Starbucks bottled Iced Coffee + Milk- 21g
Starbucks Caramel Macchiato- 32g
Starbucks Flat White- 17g
Starbucks Skinny Mocha- 17g
Starbucks Vanilla Latte- 35g
Starbucks Strawberry Granola Parfait- 20g

Healthier options:
Chobani Plain- 4g
Nature Valley Protein Bar Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate- 6g
Pure Leaf Tea Unsweetened- 0g
Starbucks coffee unsweetened- 0g
LaraBar Cashew Cookie- 18g*
Water- 0g
Fresh fruit
Fresh veggies
(Okay, I know this list is much shortened than the giant list of bad things, but practice checking for yourself and seeking more of these options).

*Larabars, are made from dates and cashews, so this high dose of sugar comes from a naturally sweet fruit, which is different than refined sugar.

Note: Don’t substitute sugar for “sugar-free” foods (spoiler alert: it’s chemicals).

Why shouldn’t you eat sugar?

  1. Sugar intake can affect immunity against infectious diseases.
  2. Sugar is strongly linked to diabetes and obesity.
  3. Sugar causes intense swings in blood sugar and hunger, but also in moods as well, sometimes causing depression.
  4. Sugar is an empty calorie, meaning it has absolutely no nutritional value.

That may be the world’s shortest list of the negative effects of sugar. But the list of benefits in a low-sugar lifestyle is also endless. Check out 10 of them from MyFitnessPal: The Surprising Benefits of Cutting Back on Sugar.

In many ways, sugar is like a drug. It’s easily addicting, gets into your bloodstream quickly, and it is very hard to avoid. The American Heart Association recommends women eat no more than 24g of process sugar per day (what? That’s like one drink at Starbucks). For men it’s 36g.

In today’s world (jk, just America) it’s very hard to avoid sugar completely. But, it only takes about 3 days for your body to lose its “addiction” to sugar. Could you go 3 days with no processed sugar? It’s time to be mindful of what you’re putting in your body.

 

Brussels Sprouts & Sweet Potato Hash

Recipes

 

IMG_3846

This is great brunch with eggs on top! Also great for weekly lunches.

3 tbsp olive oil
3 cups chopped Brussels sprouts
3 medium sweet potatoes
1/4 sweet onion
1/4 cup water
spices (cumin, garlic salt, pepper)

Preheat oven to 400 degree
Dice 3 medium sweet potatoes (I heat them in the microwave for a couple minutes to soften)
In 13×9 baking pan, add potatoes
Sprinkle olive oil, salt and pepper, cook
While those cook, make Brussels sprouts on stove (same as about but cut into smaller pieces)
In separate pan, dice 1/4 onion and saute in olive oil
Once onions and Brussels are done, mix in with potatoes, sprinkle olive oil as needed
Let hash cook for an additional 15-20 min (about 35 min total)

Maltodextrin-what?

blog posts

 

After researching and diving a little deeper into the reason I believe what I do, it’s clear that there are widely different opinions on all things health. I suppose you can’t take any as a rule of thumb, but rather a suggestion or piece of thought.

With that, one of my general rules of thumb: If you don’t know what is it, your body doesn’t either.

 Perhaps you’ve heard this before, or another similar message. And maybe you already do this- which is awesome. But if you’re not one to read ingredients or have never realized the junk that’s in our food (not including junk food), it’s time to do some digging. Let’s look at a few samples of common household foods you may not have thought twice about.

 

For example, check out this ingredient list for your favorite pastime snack. Warning- this is a sad one. If I had to choose what ingredients were in Goldfish it’d look something like MADE WITH SMILES AND AMAZINGNESS, DELICIOUSNESS, CRUNCHINESS AND MORE SMILES. With my utmost regret, I must tell you that these fishes, along with just about everything else in its class (Cheez-itz, Ritz, etc) is not on the “yay all these ingredients are natural” list. As stated in this article, Goldfish come from several sources of artificial and processed ingredients, such as folic acid, enriched flower, and GMO cheese. Are they the worst things ever? No. But they certainly don’t make the cut to feed your body with only things it likes.

Another childhood favorite? Quaker Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

GRANOLA (WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED OATS, BROWNSUGAR, CRISP RICE [RICE FLOUR, SUGAR, SALT, MALTED BARLEY EXTRACT],WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED WHEAT, SOYBEAN OIL, DRIED COCONUT, WHOLE WHEATFLOUR, SODIUM BICARBONATE, SOY LECITHIN, CARAMEL COLOR, NONFAT DRYMILK), SEMISWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS (SUGAR, CHOCOLATE LIQUOR, COCOABUTTER, SOY LECITHIN, VANILLA EXTRACT), CORN SYRUP, BROWN RICE CRISP(WHOLE GRAIN BROWN RICE, SUGAR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, SALT), INVERTSUGAR, SUGAR, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, GLYCERIN, SOYBEAN OIL. CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF SORBITOL, CALCIUM CARBONATE, SALT, WATER, SOY LECITHIN, MOLASSES, NATURAL ANDARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, BHT (PRESERVATIVE), CITRIC ACID.

RED ALERT! This recipe says “sugar” 8 times. In that teeny little bar, there is all this junk. Don’t get me wrong, they are so tasty, but it’s a whole lot of things your body doesn’t need. And let’s be honest, whether these “bad ingredients” are worth is a different story. Ice cream? Worth it. A basically bite-sized granola bar that you need 3 entire boxes to actually make a dent in your hunger? Maybe not worth it.

Or the classic ingredients in Ketchup, which does not consist of any tomatoes (yes, really. Google it).

Consider checking the ingredients before putting these snacks in your cart and indulging in a little treat. It seems silly and time-consuming but it’s well worth the extra few minutes at the store to ensure you’re treating your body right. If you want other grocery store tips, check out my next article about the grocery store map. Try it out!

It’s a sad realization. I grew up on a bag of Goldfish a day, and it’s now one of those things that is hard to go back to, knowing my body doesn’t agree. But don’t let me fool you. As with all my thoughts and posts, they are just mindful tips and it is not to say I sneak a handful of crackers and fish occasionally (because they are in my office and I can’t walk by without sneaking some).

By the way, Maltodextin is a food additive commonly found in chips, pop, starch and many processed foods.

If you don’t read anything else: try sticking to food that has natural ingredients (it’s quite surprising what you’ll find).