20 Aug Sugar: The Other White Powder That Can Kill
three facts you need to know
Over one decade ago the US population was consuming an average of over 90 pounds of sugar per person per year, according to the USDA. Now, it is over 135 pounds per capita. This has paralleled increases in major chronic illnesses; such has heart disease, cancer, diabetes, amongst other health challenges. Health for some can be an inside-out approach, and for others perhaps outside-in. Here are a few things to know…
Sugar inside your body-causes inflammation which can contribute to many health challenges. While your body can use glucose and fat as fuel, it can derive its needs from fats and complex carbohydrates, as in cruciferous vegetables. Simple carbs such as pasta, white rice, cereals, cookies, etc can raise glucose levels quickly, only to have them come crashing down to either make you tired and/or crave for more. Minimize your sweet treats and choose other sweeteners such as stevia.
Sugar outside your body-causes the skin to age, leading to a decrease in collagen and increase in wrinkles. This occurs via the process of forming what are called advanced glycation end products, or AGEs for short and ironic, when sugar attaches to protein. Caution on the various forms of sugar, it can come under an array of names. High Fructose Corn Syrup has become ubiquitous in our processed foods, and even baby formula! HFCS is also thought to produce even more AGEs.
Calculate your intake. The American Heart Association recommends limiting sugar intake to 100 calories for women and 150 calories from sugar for men, or 6 and 9 teaspoons. When looking at packaged food, look at the grams of sugar to calculate your intake and convert to teaspoons using this formula; example: 12 grams of sugar divided by 4 (g of sugar/teaspoon) equals 3 teaspoons of sugar. (3 teaspoons=1 tablespoon)
These three things are intended to give you some fuel for thought. There is an enormous amount of information available on this subject. Start with small steps of change, and with consistency you can cut out the sugar and live a healthy and beautiful life!
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?pagewanted=all
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21257751/ns/health-skin_and_beauty/t/face-facts-too-much-sugar-can-cause-wrinkles/
http://www.parenting.com/article/corn-syrup-in-formula
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HealthyDietGoals/Sugars-and-Carbohydrates_UCM_303296_Article.jsp
