processed food

What You Didn’t Know About Sugar

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As you’ve probably heard, sugar in its unnatural form, which is found in nearly everything our society consumes, can cause serious harm to your body. Although we seemingly hear this all the time, why are so few people listening? “Sugar is bad for you” *gets large bowl of ice cream. “Sugar can make you fat” *orders sweet tea at lunch. We hear it, but we don’t change. Similar to the smoking epidemic, you would think if there was enough compelling data to convince us that we should not consume the astronomical amounts of sugar that we do, we would stop. Right? But as we learned with tobacco, maybe it’s not that easy….

Sugar is addicting. Not just because it tastes amazing, but it is physically and chemically addicting. This is a topic I’m hugely passionate about, and I’ve seen it’s affects first hand. But, unfortunately, we’ve all seen these effects in our own lives, whether we know it or not, and it may even be in the mirror.

I often hear and read “sugar causes diabetes, high blood pressure and can be addicting”, but those reasonings don’t really hit home for me. I don’t have diabetes, I have regular blood pressure and I have no history of addiction, so I don’t really know what it’s like. I’m fine, right?

Did you know:

Sugar is more addictive than cocaine. Let me say that again, sugar is MORE addictive than COCAINE. Not just a little bit more addictive, SEVERAL TIMES more addictive. That is TERRIFYING. We are putting a substance in our bodies several times a day that we are entirely reliant on. But we don’t even know that because we’ve never gone long enough to feel the withdrawal effect. If you went long enough without any sugar, which is about 3 days, you would start to feel tired, maybe get a headache, and feel real withdrawals as if it was a drug.

With some research and a little determination, we as adults can figure out what food isn’t the best and even how to replace it. The saddest part about this disgusting sugar epidemic which is the root cause of deadly diseases we are suffering from every single day, is that we are feeding this drug to our innocent kids. They are addicted. And they will have problems and difficulties with their health until they are presumably old enough to research and educate themselves on how to avoid this awful, awful addictive substance.  And we hope at that point the damage is not too far gone and can be reversed with a clean lifestyle. Would you ever give your child a different addicting substance, like cocaine?

Some seriously alarming facts:

  1. Sugar is the leading cause of obesity. Not just severe obesity, but even just the “stubborn” fat you can’t seem to shake.  All these kids who are way bigger than they ever should be? Check their diets before you check their exercise.

  2. What’s this epidemic of kids (and adults) who can’t focus in school/work?  Children and adults alike have shown difficulty focusing and sleeping when consuming high sugar and fat diets. Hint: that IS the western diet. This isn’t just a sugar before bed thing or that granola bar for a snack, this is a chronic dietary problem that can be so easily fixed without medication.

  3. There have been links to sugar and the rise in/ and lack of a cure for cancer. In fact, people have reversed their fatal stages of cancer by eliminating processed foods and drinks from their diet and loaded up on greens and organic produce. Leafy greens like kale, spinach, collards and sprouts help repair cancer cells. But that’s never a treatment. Why?

  4. Sugar-Free means CHEMICALS. How do those foods taste exactly the same if they remove the top ingredient? Chemicals. Newsflash: chemicals are also not good for you nor are they better than sugar! Sugar-free is not a substitute. See also: Fat-Free.

  5. You can’t out work your diet. Meaning, you could go to the gym for two hours every single day and never be “healthy”. Wellness starts with your diet. In fact, I’d argue you could spend way less time at the gym if your diet was clean. If you’re looking to look better, start in the kitchen.

  6. Just because you are skinny does not mean your body is well. You may not be adding fat like others who eat the same sugary food, but your organs and systems are just as sick.98aae2e43744028c3066648dadc663d5

In many households, the very first thing we put in our bodies upon waking up every morning is sugar. The first thing we do is give our bodies poison. And then we carry on with our day groggy, tired, and unable to be present. Breakfast literally means to break a fast, as in finally letting your body get nutrients again after a night’s sleep. So give it something it wants, something it can actually consume.

You CAN survive without processed sugar. In fact, there are an abundance of food sources that don’t contain added sugar and are not addicting. Foods such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, and some grains. Check the nutrition label on your next snack or meal. Notice something missing? It’s not the astronomical amount of sugar the snuck in there, it’s the percent of daily value. It’s not there. Why? Because a daily percent of sugar in your diet is nearly zero. And no food in our grocery store fits the criteria.

Recipes you find here do not contain any sugar. There are plenty of ways to cook and bake without sugar, and several natural substitutes for sweet, such as honey. What are you willing to change? Would you do it for a child battling serious disease?

www.beatcancer.org
http://www.actiononsugar.org/
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1945637

Why I Stopped Counting Calories

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Do you obsess over calories? Do you not care at all? Either way, calories are very real. But they are also different from one another. 200 calories of broccoli is going to treat you body much better than a 200 calorie candy bar.

I used to count calories on MyFitnessPal. It’s an awesome app filled with recipes, blog posts, and every tool you need to start a healthier lifestyle. It really helped me realize what I was eating and what I thought was a great healthy day, actually had treats and snacks that I had completely forgotten about. Go figure. Writing down what I ate gave me a great sense of my overall health and what I was putting in my body. It helped me pass up a second helping, or second treat if I had already had something “bad” that day. But it also made me completely obsessed with counting calories. On all calorie counting apps and devices, it generalizes what your body needs and how much you burn on a personal level. I was constantly worried about going over my “recommended” amount of daily calories to stay “on track”. What does that even mean? I would reach my recommended number before the end of the day, and still need to eat dinner. This would always consume my thoughts and I would worry about being in the red on my app.

I stopped tracking what I ate and stopped focusing on calories. With a much clearer head, I now focus on what I’m eating, not how many calories I’m going over my limit. I focus on eating real food, made from real ingredients. You can’t really go wrong with that. By sticking to mostly veggies, proteins and whole grains, I don’t feel the need to rack up the calorie count. I still like to use my app, to continue getting the whole picture of what I consume in a day. I don’t look at calories, but at the foods I log. It helps me stay on track and see patterns in how I feel, what food make me crave others, and what times of day I eat. Which are all helpful things to keep in mind.

If you don’t write down what you eat, try it! Without focusing on the numbers, take a look at everything you eat in a day- maybe even record how you felt that day. Were you tired? Did your stomach ache? Did you feel energized and happy? These can all reflect what you ate.  It’s fun to see the patterns and how food affects you.

5 Swaps to a Healthier You

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Fortunately, there a million ways to get healthier and stay healthier. Some are harder than others, like putting down that ice cream. But most can be simple swaps that will go a long way in your healthy journey. Here are a few:

 

  1. Drink Water

This may be the most obvious swap of all, but it also makes the biggest difference. I make a point to stick to water and coffee, and an occasional sparkling water when I need some bubbly. Okay and an occasional* glass of wine. Sugar filled juices and teas are the easiest way to add additional calories and junk into your diet, and they come at a hefty unhealthy price. Stick to water only as your primary liquid, it is your friend. And makes a huge difference in your awareness, muscle performance, and overall wellbeing. I drink about 90oz of water per day, that’s about 5 plastic bottles worth. How much water do you drink a day?

 

  1. Get your Chef on

For those of you who say you aren’t good at cooking, or don’t know where to start in the kitchen, try cooking your favorite restaurant meals at home. Is your restaurant go-to chicken fingers and fries? Try panko-crusting chicken and baking it in the oven with sweet potato fries. Maybe you’re like me and can always go for the fish tacos? Think up those ingredients (tortilla, fish, aioli mayo, cabbage) and construct your own masterpiece. Cooking at home not only saves a huge penny in your bank account, but it’s also much healthier- and fun! Obviously (well, hopefully) you won’t have that greasy goodness dripping down your chin from a giant burger, but there’s something satisfying about building your own concoction in your kitchen. What? No time to chat over sangria and artichoke dip?

 

  1. Stove top

How did people live without a microwave? I try to heat all my food on the stove instead of the microwave when I’m home. Not only do I think it tastes better, but it also gets what was crisp, crisp and keeps more nutrients in the food. Overheating/cooking food removes nutrients your body needs.

 

  1. Take a Lap

No, not a nap. Take a lap- around the grocery store. I’m sure you’ve heard that the healthiest food at grocery is around the perimeter- cue the beer drinkers confirming their cooler along the perimeter is healthy. This is not just a coincidence at some stores- it’s really a thing. Try shopping only around the edges, getting fresh produces, fresh meats, dairy and deli products, skipping the very middle where the hostess snacks live.

 

  1. Oil Up

 

Swap butter for olive oil. Olive oil has more health benefits than butter, and is a more versatile ingredient. If butter is your thing, make sure it’s real butter and not margarine. As with both yummy ingredients, use them in moderation. Or if you want to get serious, try not using them at all. They are high in calories, which is okay, but neither are something your body needs. You can avoid them by steaming veggies, cooking meats in their own juices, and eating toast dry.

Maltodextrin-what?

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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).