Sugar Blues got the best of you? Do you tend to reach for sugary foods throughout the day in order to feel a bit more 'energized'? Do you realize that 'energy' fades pretty quickly, and you are soon ravenous for more food to keep you functioning?
Sugar is about as useful to your body as your appendix (which THEY -whoever THEY are- say is unnecessary). Sugar is a source of 'empty calories', which means there is no nutritional value... just sugar, which converts to fat in the liver. Excess sugar consumption can lead to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even cancer. It's no surprise to me that the alarming convenience of sugary processed foods and the rates of these three disease have both risen dramatically in the past two decades.
Keep in mind that sugar is not just in candy. Your pasta and marinara sauce is pretty much a huge bowl of sugar. Processed flours turn into sugar in the bloodstream and then turn to fat... especially flours which have been stripped of all of the fiber, bran, and husk (healthier option would be to eat whole grain flour products). Sugars are often hidden in the ingredient list or disguised as 'healthy' for you. I'm sorry, but sugar sucks no matter what you call it.
Here are some helpful tips to smooth the sugar-reduction transition:
1.) DON'T ADD IT TO FOODS (ex: coffee, tea, cereal, etc)
2.) Sugar has many hidden names, such as: dextrose, maltose, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, brown sugar, turbinado sugar, raw sugar, beet sugar, etc... They are all the same, as far as your precious body is concerned.
3.) Try to reduce the amount of processed food in your diet. What is processed food? Anything with a nutrition label on it, for the most part. Processed foods are foods that have been altered from their natural state. Some examples are bread, bagels, pasta, cookies, snacks, etc. These products convert to sugar in the body fast as glucose and get stored as triglycerides (that is a fancy way of saying FAT)
4.) Create the rainbow when you shop. The more colorful fruits and veggies you buy, the healthier you will be and the less sugar cravings you will have... trust me, it's that simple!
5.) READ LABELS!!! If you cannot pronounce ingredients, why the hell would you want that in your body?
6.) Artificial sweeteners are worse for you than sugar, which is horrible as well. Artificial sweeteners will cause you to crave sugar because your pancreas is releasing insulin THINKING it's receiving sugar but now its just a bunch of chemicals that happen to cause cancer. YAY.
7.) Limit fruit consumption. Yes, you heard me. I said LIMIT, JEEZ. You can still have SOME. Of course fruit is healthy, but it's still sugar. I like to think of fruit as 'nature's candy.' Opt for low sugar fruits such as apples, pears, and berries. Also, try to eat with the seasons so you don't confuse your poor beautiful body. Eating a mango during a snowstorm in January is just not cool.
8.) Bye bye fruit juice, HELLOOOO veggie juice (enough said).
Remember, one step at a time... the more you focus on sugar reduction and, in turn, the incorporation of more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, you will most likely experience a dramatic shift in the way your body looks, feels, and operates. What a powerful mission to be accomplished! I support you 100%.
Contact me at shaynayoga@gmail.com for more information.
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