5 Reasons To Kick Your Sugar Habit
why refined sugars are bad for you
So you consider yourself a pretty healthy person? You exercise regularly. You don't smoke and keep drinking to a minimum. You have cut down on fried foods, but have you tried kicking sugar to the curb? As you might have already found out, saying good-bye to that pesky carbohydrate is a difficult union to break.
Not only is sugar addictive, with its users suffering from headaches, anxiety, depression and mood swings - similar to the effects smokers, caffeine addicts and narcotics users experience - but it also lurks in unexpected places. Refined sugar can be found in almost all packaged and processed food at your local supermarket. It hides under the guise of sucrose, fructose, corn syrup, glucose, maltose and other pseudonyms.
Americans love the sweet taste of sugar, but unfortunately, most that ingest it on a regular basis are addicted. With the United States facing an obesity epidemic, the consumption of refined sugar does not help. The average American eats about 175 pounds of sugar each year, compared to the 15-pound average of 1915. This over consumption has led to a number of different health problems:
1. Weight Gain. It's no secret refined sugar leads us to pack on the pounds. Especially if eaten in large quantities, it will keep you from achieving that dream body you want. This is because it contains only empty calories - no fiber, no protein, no vitamins and no minerals. Nothing. Unlike water, which seems to have the same nutritional value, your body sees refined sugar as an invader and acts accordingly.
2. Mineral Depletion. When you eat refined sugar, your body takes nutrients from other cells to metabolize it because the sugar lacks the ability to do so on it's own. Minerals like calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium are taken from vital body parts to make use of the sugar you ingested. Over Time, the vital body processes requiring those minerals run down and become less efficient.
3. Bone Loss. Your body particularly misses calcium as it is destroyed in your body's fight against sugar. With a decreased amount of calcium being used toward vital body processes, bones become weak, increasing the chances of osteoporosis, breaks and fractures later in life. Calcium loss also leads to tooth decay, a major component of the $50 billion dentistry industry worldwide.
4. Diabetes. Large sugar intake leads to the onset of diabetes because sugar raises your body's blood sugar levels quickly, causing the pancreas to release insulin. The constant consumption of sugar throughout the day forces the body to constantly work. Eventually, the pancreas wears out and cannot perform its normal duties.
5. Low Energy. Sugar consumption will leave you feeling run down. Eating sugar after a craving might give you the notorious "sugar high," but it does not last long. Soon you crash and feel more tired than you did before the high, have less energy and are hungrier.
To wean yourself off refined sugar, take your time. Don't think you will go from eating donuts and McDonald's to oatmeal and steamed broccoli over night. Instead, try to eliminate something from your diet once a week that contains refined sugar and replace it with something natural. For example, to keep energy that will last, eat a bowl of oatmeal instead of a Twinkie.
As you are kicking the sugar habit, remember not to completely suppress your craving. You can feed it, but keep the portions small and savory.
Written By Jason Yun
Web: www.yunbootcamps.com
Email: JYun@Yunbootcamps.com
Phone: 614-432-873
Low Glycemic No Added Sugar Holiday Wassail Punch
(A Holiday Tradition)
Serves: 16
Carbs Per Serving: 12.8 g
Prep Time:<25 minutes
Skill Level: Easy
This recipe is Great and brings me back to my Western European upbringing. Wassail is defined as a salutation or toast given in drinking someone's health or as an expression of good will at a festivity. The drink used in such toasting was commonly an ale or wine spiced with roasted apples and sugar to have with or after the Holiday dinner. It's one of our great Holiday traditions and I invite you to make it one of yours.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup Fructevia, Steviva Brand Stevia Blend
A very small dash of Steviva Brand Stevia Powder
4 cups water
2 cinnamon sticks
1 slice fresh ginger root
4 cups orange juice
2 cups lemon juice
8 cups no-added sugar apple juice
8 whole allspice berries
1 tablespoon whole cloves
DIRECTIONS:
In a large saucepan, combine Fructevia, Steviva Brand Stevia Blend
or Steviva Brand Stevia Powder and water. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and add cinnamon sticks, allspice berries, cloves, and ginger. Cover and let stand in warm place for 1 hour.
Strain liquid into a large pot. Just before serving, add juices and cider and quickly bring to boil. Remove from heat and serve.
Option: Add good Brandy to taste
Nutritional Facts
Serving Size: 1 cup
Total Calories: 2,754 (without Brandy)
Calories Per Serving: 163
Total Fat Per Serving: 0.0g
Saturated Fat: 0.0g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 11.2mg
Carbohydrates Per Serving: 12.8g
Dietary Fiber: 3g
Sugars: 1.6g
Protein: 0.5g
Try All Natural Fructevia, Steviva Brand Stevia Blend and Steviva Brand Stevia Powder