BURN FITNESS 101: Sugar!!! How to Sugar-Proof Your Diet.
- Lisa Brightman, DTR
The average American consumes upwards of 22 tsp. of ADDED SUGAR per day. By sugar I mean the white stuff, sucrose. It's found almost everywhere these days: in things that are obvious like cookies, cake and candy but also in items that are not so easily identified such as whole wheat bread, salad dressing and yogurt.
Studies have found links between excess sugar intake and higher LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) & lower HDL (the good kind). It's also been associated with chemicals that raise heart disease risk, obesity, type II diabetes and even certain cancers. Sugar has been found to interfere with your brain's signals that would normally tell you that you're full, blocking those signals so that you keep eating even after you've had enough to eat.
On top of all that, sugar can be addictive. Human studies (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition) done in 2014 found that high sugar milk shakes lit up the "reward centers" of participants' brains, flooding them with dopamine. This is the same chemical that is released when someone uses cocaine.
So, if you're looking for ways to sugar-proof your diet (which we ALL should be) here are a few suggestions:
1) Shoot for no more than 24 grams (6 tsp.) of added sugar per day. When you look at the sugar grams on a food label divide it by four to get the number of tsp. in that particular product.
2) Eliminate trigger foods. We all have foods that can send us into a spiral of out-of-control eating (usually at the end of a long day)...get rid of them (mine is dark chocolate). Get them out of your kitchen, out of your desk drawer, out of your purse. Just don't have them available.
3) Drink enough water. Adequate hydration can quell your appetite, boost your metabolism (muscle is mostly water, fuel it properly and it might run better), and combat bloating. Get rid of the sodas, sweet teas and other sugar laden beverages and start drinking more water. The easiest way to cut sugar is to ELIMINATE liquid calories.
4) Eat every 2-4 hours. Making sure there is enough of an influx of fuel at regular intervals throughout your day gives can help with sugar lows, nighttime binging and your body storing everything you eat as fat because it's not sure when it's going to be fueled again.
Bottom line: Eliminating excess sugar, white flour, and even salt from your diet, isn't a magic bullet but it is a step in the right direction to beating food addictions and getting on the road to better health.
- Lisa Brightman, DTR
The average American consumes upwards of 22 tsp. of ADDED SUGAR per day. By sugar I mean the white stuff, sucrose. It's found almost everywhere these days: in things that are obvious like cookies, cake and candy but also in items that are not so easily identified such as whole wheat bread, salad dressing and yogurt.
Studies have found links between excess sugar intake and higher LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) & lower HDL (the good kind). It's also been associated with chemicals that raise heart disease risk, obesity, type II diabetes and even certain cancers. Sugar has been found to interfere with your brain's signals that would normally tell you that you're full, blocking those signals so that you keep eating even after you've had enough to eat.
On top of all that, sugar can be addictive. Human studies (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition) done in 2014 found that high sugar milk shakes lit up the "reward centers" of participants' brains, flooding them with dopamine. This is the same chemical that is released when someone uses cocaine.
So, if you're looking for ways to sugar-proof your diet (which we ALL should be) here are a few suggestions:
1) Shoot for no more than 24 grams (6 tsp.) of added sugar per day. When you look at the sugar grams on a food label divide it by four to get the number of tsp. in that particular product.
2) Eliminate trigger foods. We all have foods that can send us into a spiral of out-of-control eating (usually at the end of a long day)...get rid of them (mine is dark chocolate). Get them out of your kitchen, out of your desk drawer, out of your purse. Just don't have them available.
3) Drink enough water. Adequate hydration can quell your appetite, boost your metabolism (muscle is mostly water, fuel it properly and it might run better), and combat bloating. Get rid of the sodas, sweet teas and other sugar laden beverages and start drinking more water. The easiest way to cut sugar is to ELIMINATE liquid calories.
4) Eat every 2-4 hours. Making sure there is enough of an influx of fuel at regular intervals throughout your day gives can help with sugar lows, nighttime binging and your body storing everything you eat as fat because it's not sure when it's going to be fueled again.
Bottom line: Eliminating excess sugar, white flour, and even salt from your diet, isn't a magic bullet but it is a step in the right direction to beating food addictions and getting on the road to better health.