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Sugar: How to Avoid It, Get Around Cravings and Use Herbal SweetenersSo
what's a savvy consumer like you to do?
It's hard enough to fight an enemy you can
see. It's harder yet to combat an enemy that you can't detect.
But you can still do your part to lower your sugar consumption.
And we'll give you some simple tricks: Start by eliminating all sugary drinks from your diet. Not only do sodas and powered drinks contain sugar, but so do those supposedly health sports drinks and even those fruit juices.
Replace those sugar-laden drinks with water. Focus, instead, on drinking
more water. Remember that health experts recommend you drink a minimum of 8
eight-ounce glasses of water daily. You
can easily replace any of these with water. Bored with plain water?
Treat yourself and put a slice of lemon in it.
This adds to the flavor without the dangers of the sugar. If
you know that a food contains sugar, limit your consumption to three times a
week.
This is, without a doubt, one of the very best techniques to beat the
craving for sweets. Other
effective methods to reducing your sweets craving is to eat healthy,
balanced meals. You need to
start your meal off with a protein, preferably a complete protein.
A complete protein is any food that comes from an animal.
Then,
add
a natural
source of carbohydrate to it. This
could be a vegetable, a legume, or even a properly prepared whole grain or a
fruit. But wait, you're not
done yet. Next you need to
include some good fats to your diet. These
include butter, coconut oil, canola oil or olive oil.
These fats are much more important than you think.
They slow down the entry of sugar into the blood stream, preventing
those miserable mid-morning and afternoon crashes. Your
next step in reducing your sugar consumption is to replace refined sugars with
natural ones. There is,
indeed, a difference. Refined
sugar products include white sugar � like you may put in your coffee or
you put in your cereal. Refined
sugar also comes in many other forms, though, so you have to read food
labels carefully. Other names
refined sugar goes by include corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup,
dextrose, fructose, and sucrose. You
also want to eliminate as much as possible all artificial sweeteners.
Instead,
you want to become familiar with products such as maple syrup, molasses and
raw unfiltered honey. Many
health food stores offer products made with these natural sweeteners.
You can even find cookies and ice cream made with these.
This is a great introduction to the natural alternative that replaces
refined sugars. When you begin
to switch from refined sugar to natural, go slowly and be patient with
yourself. Sugar is a powerful addiction! There
are two more natural sweeteners that deserve your attention as well as an
herb that can help reduce your cravings for sweets.
The first is Rapadura. This
is the commercial name for a whole organic sugar and is an unbleached and
unrefined sweetener. It is
native to South America, the Caribbean as well as India where it has been
used this for thousands of years. Rapadura
is the only sugar in which the sugar stream is not separated from the
molasses. This means that
Rapadura retains most of its essential nutrients.
It has a mild, caramel-like flavor making it a perfect sweetener for
baking as well as for sweetening foods and drinks. It's
laden with minerals � especially silica and iron. If you plan to replace unrefined white sugar with Rapadura
you would use the same amount. One
cup of Rapadura equals on cup of white sugar. Another
natural sweetener you might want to look for is stevia.
This, too, comes from South America, where it has been used for more
than 1,500 years. It's
difficult for us to imagine, but it contains no calories.
On top of that it's 300 times sweeter than sugar.
With all of this, you might think that it's as bad for your system as
refined sugar, if not worse. But,
research has shown that stevia can actually regulate your blood sugar.
Across the continent of South America, this natural sweetener is sold
to those individuals with diabetes and hypoglycemia to help normalize their
conditions. You
can find it in liquid, tablet and even powered form. But, who won't find it
labeled as a sweetener. Instead, you'll find it called a "dietary
supplement" thanks to the maneuverings of the Food and Drug
Administration. Many people use
stevia as a coffee sweetener instead of table sugar. You
may also want to consider using the little known herb gymnema sylvestre.
This herb's active ingredient, legendary in India and parts of Asia
as a natural treatment for diabetes, is culled from the leaves and the roots
of the plant. It helps to
balance blood sugar levels. Scientifically
speaking, the unique contour of the gymnemic acid molecules is similar to
those of the glucose molecule. This
allows it to fill cell receptors in the lining of the body's intestines.
And this prevents the uptake of sugar molecules. Gymnema
sylvestre is an extremely useful herb even if you don't have diabetes, but
you just want to stop those uncontrollable sugar cravings that come over
you. Some experts say you
should take this herb with a high-carbohydrate meal � or even a meal that
contains plenty of sugar. In
this way it can help the body by passing through the sugars. This makes the
carbohydrates in your body burn more quickly.
Otherwise they would be stored and would quickly turn to fat.
The other advantage is that it helps your body build lean muscle
mass. [Source:
www.wisegeek.com]
How to get around dugar cravings Sugar
addiction. You may not have
thought of yourself as an addict. Think
again. It may be that you
became an addict unwittingly, but you still may be one.
Most of us are. And
overcoming this addition is just as difficult � if not more so than
tobacco or alcohol. Interested
in reducing your reliance on sugar through the substituting of good,
wholesome foods? It is
possible. While it may take
some discipline and time, you'll find it's worth the both the time and
effort you put in to it. Not
only will you be decreasing your chances of developing some of the most
devastating degenerative diseases, you'll also be increasing your energy
level and your quality of life! Now,
isn't that worth it? Eat sweet vegetables.
You have probably already guessed that the best way to beat the sugar
craves is through a sensible diet. But
to help your taste buds � and your brain � transition, try eating sweet
veggies. Root vegetables are
especially valuable. Try
increasing your intake of yams, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets and �
believe it or not � even onions. These
provide you with a sweet flavor while at the same time helping to reduce
that nagging craving for a sweet dessert. While
you're munching down on those vegetables, include some green leafy vegetables as well.
This will help replenish those essential nutrients that sugar has
been stripping from your system. Add
some high-fiber foods to your diet
as well. Apples are especially
valuable here. They not
only keep those sugar cravings at bay, but since they require more
"chewing time" they give your body the valuable time it needs to
realize that it's not hungry any more.
And that means you're less likely to overeat!
And that helps if you're trying to lose weight as well.
A Brazilian study recently discovered that just by eating three small
apples throughout the day � while eating a well-rounded diet � can help
you lose significantly more weight than those individuals who didn't eat
apples. Not a bad bonus! Don't
limit your fruits though to just apples.
Look at what you could be eating instead
of those two chocolate sandwich cookies.
Those cookies have the same amount of calories as 1 � cups of melon
or 2 cups of strawberries. Those
types of servings will not only make you feel full, but they also provide
your body with the vitamins and minerals it needs.
But the greatest aspect of fresh fruit is that it's energy food.
You'll feel a little more energized after eating fruit.
After you finish the cookies, your body feels more drained and
lifeless. If
you think you can't live without ice cream, then replace it with a puree of
frozen fruit with just a dash of fruit juice concentrate. You might also want to make a smoothie with frozen sliced
bananas and diluted peanut butter or even almond or cashew butter.
Put all this in a food processor or a blender.
You'll want about one tablespoon of the nut butter.
Add a tablespoon of water and one-quarter teaspoon of vanilla
extract. And here again, it's
an energy-giving food instead of an energy-depleting one. There
are plenty of ways to kick the sugar habit.
You just need a little determination and some imagination.
In no time at all you'll feel healthier and more energetic.
And decrease your chances of developing a whole host of health
problems in the process!
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