The average American consumes about 200 pounds of white flour per year. That same American also consumes about 160 pounds of refined sugar per year.
That equates to consuming almost 1 pound of toxic, empty calories, EVERY DAY!
Your mother probably knew that giving you candy caused you to become hyper as a kid. You’ve probably heard that drinking regular Coke or almost any soda is bad for you for some reason or another. Did anyone ever tell you why sugar was bad? Growing up I just knew that sugar tasted good and my mom didn’t want me to have it, the two best reasons to do anything as a kid.
Even today for most of America, most people don’t know that the refined sugar we have been ingesting from soda, cookies, orange juice, breakfast cereal and even ketchup have been causing diseases. Some of the most common sugar related diseases are cancer, diabetes, premature aging, migraines, obesity, mineral deficiencies and arthritis.
As if those diseases weren’t enough to make you reconsider your daily dose of sugar, what if I told you that consuming sugar was almost as bad as taking a narcotic drug?
MIT graduate and vitamin science expert, Raymond Francis explains sugar’s addictive qualities: “Animal studies show that regular consumption of sugar causes long-lasting changes in brain chemistry, similar to those caused by street drugs such as cocaine or heroin. These changes mean that even a single exposure to a sweet, salty or fatty food will change gene expression, stimulating opioids in the brain. These pleasure chemicals are addictive.”
Sugar is cheap and its various chemical cousins are even cheaper. Sugar helps food look better, taste better and sell faster. Your beach body is paying the price.
What Sugar Doesn’t Work in Our Body
Sugars are referred to as empty calories because they do not contain vitamins or minerals. There is absolutely no nutritional value to our body. Since your body cannot process these sugars, it will store them. In your butt, thighs, belly, breasts, and arms. Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there. When those other areas get maxed out, your body begins to store that fat (consumed in the form of sugars) in areas around your vital organs like the heart and kidneys. This eventually leads to high blood pressure and even damage brain function.
So if consuming sugar makes us fat and stupid, is in just about every food, what can we do?
First order of business is stop feeding the habit. Just as smokers have to slowly wean away the lure of the taste and “buzz,” so does the sugar lover. Simply replacing the sugar in your diet has helped thousands drops 5-40 pounds. Below are some common ways to help you satiate the sugar craving, without using sugar, of course:
1- Read the label.
Sugars have been getting clever over the years. Sugars often hide behind names like Raw, Pure, Cane, maltodextrine, cane juice, honey, rice syrup, molasses. Just about anything that ends in “ose,” sucrose, dextrose, fructose, glucose, and levutose. Those words are now bad words and should be a flashing red light signaling you to step away and find a more suitable, less sugar-loaded option.
2- Sweeten naturally
Stevia is a great way to sweeten a beverage or even foods. At first Stevia was a tad bitter, but with the growing need for a sweetener without harmful side effects, the manufacturing processes for Stevia have significantly improved its quality.
3- Chew gum
I know, I know. Youre probably saying, “There is no way gum can replace my Mountain Dew or ice cream.” I was right there with you, but drastic times call for drastic measures. When your pants no longer fit, when your brain slows and fat deposits surround your heart, a nice spearmint gum seems like a pretty good solution to avoiding disease or expensive surgery. Changing your diet takes a lot of will power and if your health means enough to you, the time to change is now.
A favorite quote of mine goes something like this: ” If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always gotten.” If you keep eating what you have always eaten, you’ll probably not see much of a change. Read those nutrition labels. Stop killing yourself slowly with empty calories
Remind yourself that you don’t need soda and sweets. Be firm with yourself and when the power of your will prevails, you just may find yourself buying smaller jeans, eating healthier foods and living a better quality life.
For more information on sugar, the HCG diet or other health information, visit www.platinumbodyperformance.com.