{"id":10912,"date":"2018-07-02T15:25:32","date_gmt":"2018-07-02T22:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lifeandhealth.wordifysites.com\/?p=10912"},"modified":"2018-07-02T15:25:32","modified_gmt":"2018-07-02T22:25:32","slug":"hooked-on-sugar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/lifestyle\/hooked-on-sugar\/1510912.html","title":{"rendered":"Hooked On Sugar"},"content":{"rendered":"

R<\/span>ecently, as I entered the fitness center in my community, a large pop-up banner caught my attention and caused me to raise an eyebrow. The headline read: \u201cJuice Boxes. Not worth the squeeze. 1 box=10 chocolate candies.\u201d To illustrate the point, pictured on the banner were 10 chocolate candy kisses equated with a small juice box. I was amazed to learn that those little juice boxes that advertisers tout as a healthy alternative contain 20 grams of sugar\u2014the equivalent of five packets, or five teaspoons, of sugar. Now curious, I did some fact checking: Even a tiny 4.26-ounce box of 100 percent juice (with no sugar added) contains 16 grams\u2014or four teaspoons\u2014of sugar, approaching the six-teaspoon daily limit recommended by the World Health Organization. No wonder fruit juice and other beverages are often described as liquid candy!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>It is estimated that the average American consumes about 22 teaspoons of sugar daily\u2014that\u2019s more than three times the amount of sugar that is considered acceptable. Numerous scientific studies have shown that excess sugar consumption is associated with obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, gout, elevated uric acid levels, certain types of cancer, and elevated cholesterol and triglycerides.<\/p>\n

Sugar consumption can even affect your appearance and how you age. A study conducted at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands and Unilever in the United Kingdom found that people between the ages of 50 and 70 who had high levels of blood glucose looked older than those of the same age who had lower glucose levels.<\/p>\n

Eating sugar also creates a can\u2019t-win cycle: Certain types of sugar, specifically high-fructose corn syrup, can stimulate hunger, and, consequently, affect how much food we eat. According to findings by Yale School of Medicine, \u201cfructose possibly increases food-seeking behavior and increases food intake.\u201d In other words, the more sugar you eat, the more you want to eat . . . and eat . . . and eat. And it\u2019s not just more sugar that you eat; it tricks you into feeling hungry for all kinds of food.<\/p>\n

Robert Lustig, M.D., a pediatric neuroendocrinologist at the University of California San Francisco who has conducted clinical research on diet, lifestyle, and health outcomes, firmly believes that the increase in sugar consumption has led to the current obesity crisis. He asserts that excess sugar consumption sets up a vicious cycle by driving fat storage while also making the body think it is hungry. According to Lustig, all forms of sugar are poison. \u201cHigh-fructose corn syrup and sucrose are exactly the same. They\u2019re equally bad,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

So how can you cut all that added sugar from your diet? Here\u2019s a good starting point:<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t believe the hype.<\/b><\/h3>\n

You\u2019ve likely heard the research about the dangers of soda, including their connection to obesity, diabetes, and other serious health problems. But fruit juice\u2014especially with no added sugar\u2014is supposed to be a healthy choice, right? As I learned from that pop-up sign, just because a company\u2019s marketing department is telling you their product is healthy, doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s true. For the healthiest option, avoid processed, packaged foods as much as possible, and increase your consumption of whole foods in their natural state. For example, orange juice may be better for you than orange soda\u2014but an actual orange is the best choice.<\/p>\n

Hunt down hidden sugar.<\/b><\/h3>\n

Sugar can be hidden in places you\u2019d least expect, so you\u2019ll need to learn to be a label reader. A small granola bar, often considered a healthy option, can have as many as 25 grams of sugar, which is more than the recommended sugar intake for the entire day. Other foods with unexpected sugar include salad dressing, ketchup, barbecue sauce, yogurt, canned fruit, restaurant food, and frozen entrees. Remember that sugar can be labeled many ways, including molasses, dried cane syrup, brown rice syrup, invert sugar, sucrose, dextrose (or any name ending is \u201c-ose\u201d).<\/p>\n

Try healthier alternatives.<\/b><\/h3>\n

What\u2019s a special occasion without a cake, cookies, or a sweet treat? Fortunately, you don\u2019t have to give up celebrating when you cut back on sugar. Make your own healthier desserts sweetened with stevia or dates (but don\u2019t use artificial sweeteners, which, surprisingly, can cause weight gain). Scan Pinterest or the internet for tasty ideas. For everyday sugar cravings, grab a piece of fresh fruit or a small handful of raw almonds or walnuts. Fruit and nuts are packed with nutrients and fiber and also help to create a feeling of satiety.<\/p>\n

Give it time.<\/b><\/h3>\n

As you cut back on your sugar intake, you\u2019ll be surprised how your taste buds change and how much better you feel. After doing a 21-day challenge of eating healthy foods and no added sugar, I felt more energetic\u2014and no longer craved sweets. In fact, when I tasted a sugar-sweetened dessert after a few weeks off of sugar, it seemed sickeningly sweet!<\/p>\n

\n

Reprinted with permission from Vibrant Life<\/a> magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently, as I entered the fitness center in my community, a large pop-up banner caught my attention and caused me to raise an eyebrow. The headline read: \u201cJuice Boxes. Not worth the squeeze. 1 box=10 chocolate candies.\u201d To illustrate the point, pictured on the banner were 10 chocolate candy kisses equated with a small juice…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1712,"featured_media":10913,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,2,4],"tags":[218,224],"thb-sponsors":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-10912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthy-habits","category-lifestyle","category-nutrition","tag-healthy-habits","tag-sugar","post_format-post-format-image"],"acf":[],"views":2364,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1712"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10912"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10912\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10917,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10912\/revisions\/10917"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10912"},{"taxonomy":"thb-sponsors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/thb-sponsors?post=10912"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=10912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}