Saying Good Riddance to Added Sugar By Julia Romano Did you know that removing foods with “added sugar” from your diet will enable not only a significant amount of weight loss, but will also help to prevent a great number of health problems? I can tell you, firsthand, that this has nothing to do with another fad diet. It’s also not something that will prevent you from eating what you love, and take it from me, if I was able to accomplish this, ANYONE can. I am in my early 50s, and for several years, I had a sugar addiction. Day after day, week after week, and month after month, led to years of eating foods with an exorbitant amount of “added sugar,” causing many unwanted pounds to creep up on me, while also causing me to feel unhealthy, both physically and emotionally. I constantly felt sluggish and unmotivated, with no end in sight. Did I attribute my declining health to the sugar? Of course not! Doing so, would mean that I would have to put a stop to my sugar addiction, and to be honest, I had no idea how to do this, or even if it was a possibility. I was in “deep sugar!” At the time, I blamed my weight gain and other health issues on everything, but my over consumption of sugar. My excuses included the normal ageing process and my body’s changes due to menopause, but if I was to be honest, I would have admitted that my diet, and specifically, the extreme amount of sugar I was consuming, was the primary culprit. Just about a year ago, a telephone call from my very intelligent and astute primary care doctor made a huge impact on me and started me on the track to turn things around. After some routine blood work, my doctor determined that the sugar I was consuming was not metabolizing as it should, which she explained, could potentially lead to medical issues not so far down the road. I took this as my “wake up call” and the push I needed to finally address my sugar addiction. At that very moment, I made a decision that one year later, drastically improved my health and enabled me to shed all of the weight I had gained in the past several years. I finally came to the realization that I was eating foods 40 Shop In RI
with far too much added sugar and it was time to change that if I wanted to take control of my health.
Reasons to Avoid Added Sugar One common sense fact is that an excess of sweetened foods and beverages can lead to weight gain, blood sugar problems, and an increased risk of heart disease, among other potentially dangerous conditions. For these reasons, added sugar should be kept to a minimum, whenever possible, which is actually not as difficult as you may think. I found it to be very surprising that most foods have added sugar, but, I also was able to find the same type of foods with no added sugar that are just as satisfying.
Important FACTS about ADDED SUGAR Many people rely on quick, processed foods for meals and snacks. Since these products often contain added sugar, it makes up a large proportion of their daily calorie intake. Experts note that sugar consumption is a major cause of obesity and chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, depression, liver problems, kidney disorders, cancer, and many others. Rates of obesity are rising worldwide and added sugar, especially from sugar-sweetened beverages, is thought to be a primary cause. Sugar-sweetened drinks like sodas, juices, and sweet teas are loaded with fructose, a type of simple sugar. Consuming fructose increases your hunger and desire for food more than glucose, the main type of sugar found in starchy foods.
