Sugar - The Ugly Truth
Stay strong— say no to sugar
Friends of mine will tell you I am a wee bit like the sugar police! I have truly tried to cut out sugar from my diet and from my family’s diet, because I know just how bad it is for our health and wellbeing. Sure, there will always be the odd treats that sneak in here and there, we’re only human after all, but being aware of just how much sugar is in every day foods like drinks, muesli bars, cereals, sauces etc, every day grocery items that we buy, is really important. The obesity epidemic in New Zealand is truly scary and in my opinion it’s a direct correlation to this sugar being pumped into all of our foods by clever food manufacturers. There are SO many reasons why you should look at trying to cut out processed sugar from your diet. It is something I’m truly passionate about.
Here are a few of the reasons why sugar is so bad for your health:
Rotten teeth – the dentists bill
No essential nutrients are in sugar at all – just a load of empty calories and energy
Weight gain – if you can’t burn off all this extra energy, it just turns to fat – obesity problem
Feeling sluggish and tired, bloated and gassy tummy can all be signs of a high sugar diet
Sugar is high in fructose, too much fructose can overload the liver, causing fatty liver disease
A diet high in sugar can lead to diseases like diabetes, with complications like blindness
Links to cancer— cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and is characterised by uncontrolled growth & multiplication of cells. Insulin is one of the key hormones in regulating this sort of growth. For this reason, many scientists believe that having constantly elevated insulin levels (a consequence of sugar consumption) can contribute to cancer—scary!!
Because sugar causes a large release of dopamine in the brain, it can cause addiction in people (some say it’s more addictive than cocaine!!), it leaves you craving even more.
How much sugar should we be eating per day?
By World Health Organisation standards, Adult men 9 teaspoons per day, Adult women 6 teaspoons per day, and chil- dren only about 5 teaspoons per day.
How much sugar is in my food? How to read food labels
Look for foods with 10g per 100g or less of sugar, ideally less than 5g per 100g.
When I say sugar, I’m talking about ‘added’ sugar. As in what most processed foods have, when you read the back of a packet and the ingredients list says ‘sugar’. Some foods have naturally occurring sugars, like fruit as an example. When reading a food label, aim for foods with 10g per 100g or less of sugar. Ideally, under 5g per 100g is even better. 1 teaspoon of sugar = 4.2g
Examples:
1 small tub of fruit yoghurt = 12.6g of sugar. That is 3 teaspoons of sugar just in one tiny pot of yoghurt!
1 “healthy” muesli bar, that still has the health star rating = 10.5g of sugar. That’s 2 1⁄2 teaspoons of sugar in just one small muesli bar
You can see how you would very quickly exceed the daily allowance if you at a high sugar cereal with yoghurt for breakfast, then toast with a high sugar spread, by morning tea time you’d be at your limit already. Scary!!!
How can I cut down on sugar, what do I need to be aware of?
You MUST read the food labels on the back of foods – over 10g per 100g of sugar, don’t buy it!
Be aware that even foods disguised as “healthy” can be loaded with sugars Any packet that has the word SUGAR in the first 3 ingredients, don’t buy it.
Do your best to avoid eating these foods – fizzy drinks, fruit juices, cakes/biscuits, baked goods, lollies, anything that says “low fat” or “diet” is usually pumped full of sugar.
Alternatives if you have a sweet tooth
You’ll actually find that after the initial shock of cutting out (or right down) on processed sugar, you’ll find you don’t actually want to eat it anymore. Here are some easy swaps which I tell my clients to do, you can still have treats, just make better choices!
Chocolate – buy dark chocolate, not dairy milk. The darker, the more cocoa and less sugar it has (2 pieces at night with a cuppa as a treat)
Fruit — Eat an apple, berries or even some sweet pineapple instead of chowing down on biscuits
Swap fizzy drinks for Soda water with a twist of lemon – I buy the Endeavour brand from Countdown, much lower in sugar compared to lemonade, coke etc but you’re still having a fizzy
Make your own treats – follow some of my recipes, ditch the white sugar and use alternatives
You’ll truly notice once you get the processed white sugar out of your diet, how much clearer your mind will be, you’ll be less bloated, have clearer skin and have way more energy.
Sugar truly is super bad for your body and I challenge you to try and cut it out (or down) from your diets and from feeding it to your kids! Message me with any questions you have or any support you need!
You got this!
Xx
Sarah