Don’t be fooled! Sugar is a drug. Your body craves it and reacts to it in the same way. Sugar provides that temporary “high”, but it takes away more energy than it gives, which leaves us wanting more sugar after we crash- Creating an endless cycle of eating and crashing, eating and crashing. Here are some tips for how to read your labels, so that you can avoid sugar in your foods. If any of the following are the top 3 ingredients listed, then avoid that product.
The following list is also known as- SUGAR!
- Evaporated cane juice
- Sugar or white sugar
- Brown sugar
- Confectioner’s sugar
- Corn syrup
- Dextrin
- Molasses
- Invert sugar
- Maple syrup
- Raw sugar
- High fructose sugar
- Turbinado sugar
- Sorghum
- Powdered sugar
- Corn sweeteners
- Brown rice syrup
- Crystallized cane juice
- Polydextrose
- Maltodextrine
- Amazake
- Beet sugar
- Cane sugar
- Honey
- Malt
- Carob powder
- Fruit juice concentrate
- The “ose” sugars: sucrose, glucose, dextrose, maltose, fructose
- The “ols”- sugars alcohols: in chewing gums/breath mints, sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol, and maltitol.
IMPORTANT TIP: How do you convert grams (European unit of measurement) into units we can understand?
- 4 grams= 1 teaspoon
- 1000 mgs= 1 gram (g)
- Example: A 12 ounce can of pop has 40 grams of sugar. The pop contains 10 teaspoons of sugar! and approximately 150 empty calories.
- Harvard researchers say: Women who drink 1 can of pop per day increases your risk of type II diabetes by 83%.
- One can of pop= 150 cal. x 365 days/year= 3500 calories= 15.6 lbs./year
- One can of pop can inhibit your immune system by 1/3 for 3-4 hours.
The typical American eats about 31 teaspoons (124 grams) of added sugar every day! That adds up to 500 extra calories, about 25% of your daily intake.
The American Heart Association suggests that you should limit your daily sugar intake to no more than 6-7% of your total calories. That does not include fruit and dairy products!
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