4 WEEKS TO SUGAR CRAVINGS FREEDOM! Week 3

Alternatives to sugars - natural sweeteners

Pure sucrose (table sugar) is the most common sweetener in the modern, industrialized world. People, and in fact most other mammals except members of the cat family, will gladly accept a food sweetened with sucrose, even if they aren't hungry.

Most of us love sweets, ice cream, soft drinks, pies, cakes, cookies, candy. We often crave them. To satisfy these cravings, we consume about one hundred fifty pounds of sugar per person per year. That's almost a half pound of sugar per day. Surprised?
It’s true…we do love our sugar!

What happens to our metabolism, on all that sugar? Sugar is metabolized directly into blood sugar, or glucose, which fuels our brain and muscles. The purer the source, the faster it gets into the bloodstream, bypassing much of the digestive process.

Our blood sugar levels skyrocket and that triggers a spike in insulin, a hormone which is needed to prep our cells to absorb the sugar. When a food or drink has no other nutrients to sustain our blood sugar, it crashes as quickly as it rises - and we crave another hit. …(think candy, sweets, sodas, etc.) This is how sugar addiction begins. Sugar gives us pleasure by stimulating the release of the neurotransmitter serotonin, and probably other mood-elevating substances. Scientists report that eating chocolate initiates a brain response similar to falling in love. No wonder we love chocolate!

Unfortunately, it also has several adverse health effects. The most common is tooth decay. Sucrose has high calorie content and there is a fair amount of evidence that it contributes to obesity. People with diabetes need to control their intake of sucrose. There have even been some studies showing the possibility that excessive sugar consumption may play a role in certain degenerative diseases. Also, how many times have we seen children go from being “little angels” to “little devils” after eating a sugary desert or soft drink?

Sugar can also cause symptoms of intestinal distress such as bloating, cramping, and gas. Other symptoms of sugar sensitivity are headaches, insomnia, aggression, panic attacks, irritability, mood swings, and depression. New studies in accelerated aging link elevated sugar intake with a process called glycosylation: proteins in our bodies morph into AGE's, or advanced glycosylation end-products, a kind of metabolic debris that collects in our organ, joint, and skin tissues. Be sure to ask me about a product that prevents most of the formation of the advanced glycosylation end products, which age our bodies faster than they should.

Most authorities agree that no more than 10% of our diet should be made up of sugar in most forms.

"Low-sugar" or "sugar-free" is the latest fad - It should be a welcome trend, given the health hazards of all the sugar in the average diet. However…if we use artificial sugar substitutes like aspartame, (NutraSweet), sucralose, (Splenda) Acesulfates, etc. we may be jumping from the frying pan into the fire. After this series, I will write a blog about the dangers of these substances.

In the meantime…WHAT CAN WE USE???

There are several great choices for us. Here are just a few. These are not in any order of preference, just letting you know they are available. Most health food stores will have some or all of them and nowadays, even some groceries have a pretty good selection of healthier choices.

Organic Agave
Agave makes a good substitute for table sugar for a variety of reasons. Agave nectar is a real sugar, as opposed to an artificial or non-nutritive sweetener, Although it has properties similar to many sugars its glycemic index is significantly lower. This makes it a healthier alternative to many processed AND natural sweeteners, Artificial sweeteners provide sweetness, but few of the functional properties of real sugars. Agave provides the same variety of functions in cooking (including browning, moisture retention, softening and food preservation) as processed sugars. While Agave has more calories than sugar, you only use about 40% of the amount so there is probably a net loss in the calorie count.

Stevia
Stevia is the world's only all-natural sweetener with zero calories, zero carbohydrates and a zero glycemic index. These attributes make stevia a good alternative to sugar or chemical sweeteners. Especially popular as a sweetener for coffees and teas, Stevia can also be used in cooking and baking, helping you reduce your calorie intake and stay healthy. It has been thoroughly tested in dozens of tests around the world and found to be completely non-toxic. A brand I like is “Sweet Leaf”

Xylitol
This natural sweetener has demonstrated both passive and active cavity fighting ability and has even shown promise in alleviating ringing ear syndrome. Caution for dogs: while humans have absolutely no problem with Xylitol, it can cause a dangerous surge of insulin with dogs. Just another example of the differences between us. Feel free to use it yourself, just don’t let your dog get even a tiny bit of it.

Barley Malt
Dark, sticky, although there is a dry form called “Dr. Bronner’s Barley Malt Sweetener”. Barley malt sugar is not as strong a flavor as blackstrap molasses nor as sweet as honey. It is mostly maltose, a complex sugar that enters the bloodstream slowly. This sweetener offers trace amounts of eight vitamins and several minerals. Barley malt syrup is a wonderful addition to squash and pumpkin breads, bran muffins, and hearty rye or pumpernickel breads. Use it to glaze sweet potatoes and to make winter “malteds” combined with bananas and soy milk.

Tomorrow, the last of the 4 steps.

4 WEEKS TO SUGAR CRAVINGS FREEDOM! WEEK 1

Sugar addiction is practically universal in America today. Most of us have a love/hate relationship with sugar and know that they should use far less than they are using now. I hope that this helps someone to break free and get healthier.

Sugar is an actual addiction and when you are breaking the addiction you can have withdrawal symptoms just as with any other addiction. Eating sugar activates pleasure areas in the brain and the brain keeps wanting more and more of that stimulation. It is very powerful but you can be free. There are ways to help minimize the discomfort, and the end result of being free of that addiction is truly wonderful in terms of the way your body feels and functions.

You will have far more energy, your mood will be lighter, (and so will your body if you need to take off some weight), your mind will be clearer and you will have more patience among many other benefits.

Week 1 – Detox. During week one limit your intake of refined sugar to no more than 1 teaspoon a day. That could be at breakfast with whole grain cereal with 1 tsp sugar, or with a hot or cold beverage with 1 tsp sugar, or in any way that you want. It could be a whole grain toast with 1 tsp jelly. The important thing is that you will be retraining your taste buds to like things less sweet and more natural.

You want to avoid anything with white flour because that turns to plain old sugar in your body. Avoid sweets such as pastries, cakes, ice cream sweet rolls etc. Instead, substitute a piece of fruit for dessert at lunch and at dinner. Have some fruit at breakfast and as a snack. If you are diabetic or hypoglycemic, you will limit your fruit to one or two servings a day.

Eat all you want of virtually any vegetable except beets and corn…limit those to no more than 1 serving each per day because of the high sugar content.

Eat only one banana or one serving of grapes a day for the same reason.

Eat moderately of high quality protein foods, nuts, seeds, one or two 4 oz servings of meat, cheese, yogurt, etc.

Whole grains in the form of cereal, crackers, and breads can give you a feeling of satisfaction and fullness. They, as well as the vegetables, and protein also provide some of the B complex which can help to reduce the craving for sweets.

Be sure to drink at least 8 8oz glasses of purified water every day. It is important to flush out the toxins that will be released back into your bloodstream from their storage place in the fat cells of the body. This in part accounts for the symptoms of withdrawal

For a list of healthy food supplements that can help to minimize the discomfort and keep your cravings down please request it by contacting me through the provided area. I will be happy to send it to you.
Tomorrow I’ll talk about what to do in week 2.