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Sugar: The BasicsIf you don't believe that sugar creeps into just about every food we eat, let's visit the neighborhood grocery store. You're trying hard to eat healthy. You're determined your family will too! So you're cruising the grocery aisles shopping with
the glint of resolve in your eye. You
toss a sugar-free pudding mix into your cart.
Then you see those granola bars in your grocery cart, because they
have to be healthier than those candy bars your kids eat. You
check out and take the food home � feeling pretty smug that you're doing
your part to change your eating habits.
But, even with this healthy diligence, you and your children are
still big consumers of sugar � in far greater quantities than you might
think. What to see exactly what we mean? Let's
first look at the sugar-free pudding. With
only 90 calories for a half-cup serving compared with the 150 for the type
with sugar, it's looking pretty good so far. But let's dig a little deeper here. No matter what the label may tell you, there is still a type
of sugar in this product. It's
called lactose. It's a natural sugar found in
milk products. Now
let's get technical. Lactose is
really a large molecule which is made of two smaller sugar molecules �
glucose and galactose � linked together. Hmm.
Perhaps it's not "as sugar free" as you thought. Our
next step is to look at those granola bars you bought. Go ahead and read the label.
Does it sound anything like this?
Sugar, rolled oats, dextrose, wheat flakes, rice dried lemon,
soybeans, fructose, corn syrup, partially hydrogenated peanut and soybean
oil, non-fat milk, almonds, malt, sorbital and flavoring. Whew!
What a mouth full. But more than that, let's really examine some of these
ingredients. Food manufacturers
are getting ever cleverer, because as consumers we're growing increasingly
savvy. This is just one more
example of this. First,
the closer the ingredient is listed at the top of the list, the greater the
amount of the ingredient is in the product.
Sugar is the first ingredient. So
there is more sugar than anything else. Not boding too well for healthy, is it? But
wait, because that's not the only sugar in the granola bar. How many types can you find?
Here's what we see: Sugar
(of course) dextrose, fructose, corn syrup and sorbitol. Yes,
fully one-third of the 15 ingredients in this granola bar � five
individual types in all � is sugar in some form or other.
Now does it sound like a good snack? Sugar.
We all know that it's a major contributing factor to the growing
worldwide obesity epidemic. It's also plays a large role in the development of diabetes.
With even so-called healthy foods containing labels like this, it's
no wonder that sugar in this county is skyrocketing.
You literally can consume sugar with nearly every meal and not even
touch a sugar bowl! It's
already in the processed foods and snacks we eat � even in those foods
marked sugar free and so-called healthy!
Sugar:
An Overview Today's
average American consumer ingests 2 to 3 pounds of sugar a week!
We say "ingest" because in many of the cases, we're not
even aware we're "eating" sugar.
This is a dramatic increase even in the last two decades.
In the 1980s, we, as a
nation consumed some 26 pounds to 135 pounds per person in
a year! Now compare this to
the late nineteenth century � specifically the years from 1887 to 1890 �
when the average American ate only five
pounds of sugar in an entire year! It comes as no surprise then that
cancer and heart disease were virtually unknown back then! Additionally,
too much sugar increases our risk of developing diabetes as well as a host
of other health problems not normally associated with sugar consumption.
Eating too much sugar suppresses your immune system, which then makes
you more susceptible to colds and other illnesses. An excess of sugar
consumption has also been associated with an increase in the development of
cancer. But
its hazards don't end there. Excess
consumption of sugar has also been linked with making existing asthma
conditions worse, increasing the severity of arthritic conditions, as well
as exacerbating mood swings, even prompting personality changes. And
if those aren't enough reasons to make you stop in your tracks when you see
any form of sugar, here are a few more.
Sugar has been associated with an increased cholesterol level and
that can lead to a heart attack. Then
there are the "hidden" problems you'll discover when you eat too
much sugar, like finding it hard to sleep at night.
When you eat much sugar �even inadvertently � your heart rate
increases and your body finds it extremely difficult to relax. Even your mind refuses to slow down. Think about the last time you had trouble sleeping, finding
it hard to turn your mind off. Could an over consumption of sugar have been
the cause? Perhaps
you've noticed that you've been retaining a bit more water than usual.
It could very well be because of your sugar consumption.
Those last five or ten pounds you can't lose on your diet may be due
to the ubiquitous sugar in our society. Ever
get into one of those mental funks when you just can't think clearly?
Recent research has confirmed that sugar actually interferes with
brain wave function, making it more difficult to concentrate at long
stretches at a time. The consumption of sugar also makes it harder to learn
as well. Many times, sugary
snacks and soda drinks are the reasons why some children struggle in school. As
a nation, our sugar consumption is growing by leaps and bounds.
The sad � and frightening � aspect is that for the most part we
are not aware of all the ways that sugar "creeps" into our diets.
Even when we make an honest attempt at limiting the amount of sugar
we consume, we're receiving this potential poison from the most unlikely of
foods. Our lifestyle and the
level of processed foods we eat make it difficult for us to completely drop
the sugar habit.
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