{"id":1539,"date":"2019-03-06T18:33:28","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T08:33:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/melt.kitchen\/?p=1539"},"modified":"2019-07-12T11:05:49","modified_gmt":"2019-07-12T01:05:49","slug":"kicking-the-sugar-habit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/melt.kitchen\/kicking-the-sugar-habit\/","title":{"rendered":"Kicking the Sugar Habit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sugar? No thanks, I’m sweet enough!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Feel free to use the above words at any time you need to resist the temptation of the master seductress sugar! Unfortunately we need to think of sugar as the devil in disguise, for despite its alluring calling it is definitely not our friend, when we now know it consistently negatively impacts our wellness.
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You may be thinking \u201cI don\u2019t eat sweets and chocolate, so won\u2019t be eating that much sugar in a day\u201d  but you may be surprised to know that there are other foods where sugar is hiding such as bread, hummus, yogurt, muesli bars, cereals (including granola), baby food, sauces, milk and salad dressings. When it comes to convenience food, sugar is just about impossible to avoid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sugar is an addictive substance. An addictive substance has two traits:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Having just a small amount leaves you wanting more.<\/li>
  2. Suddenly cutting it our cold turkey causes withdrawals.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Sugar is also 99 percent pure calories, with NO vitamins, minerals, proteins or fats \u2013 just carbohydrates that spike our blood sugar, followed by an insulin response and a rollercoaster sugar crash. Plus – and this is quite a sticking point – leading us to then desire more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If I said to you today, cut all food out that has sugar in it, how do you think your body (and mind) would respond? It\u2019s likely it would have an addiction withdrawal.
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    I often get asked why have we gone from \u201clow fat\u201d to \u201clow sugar\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The age-old nutritional advice to \u201ceat low fat\u201d has been seriously undermined by many studies that show such a way of eating is rarely effective to promote weight loss or a healthy lifestyle.
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    You may have noticed in the last 5 years or so though, that most marketing for food products has gone from \u201clow fat\u201d to \u201clow sugar\u201d,\u201c low carb\u201d or low GI\u201d which has left you wondering why and what it all means?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    First, let me give you a few statistics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The average daily caloric intake has increased by 25% since 1970, yet we are eating less saturated fats like butter which are higher in calories. In this time, there was a 20% surge of carbohydrate intake though, particularly refined grains. What this means is that we have cut out fats but are eating way more carbohydrates to make up for not feeling as full for as long.  With this change, obesity, heart disease, and diabetes has also surged and the research into why clearly shows it was the effects of carbohydrates (sugars) that were responsible.
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    How though?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When we consume foods with any type of sugar, whether it is natural or refined, the sugar is broken down and enters the bloodstream. Depending on whether it is a complex carbohydrate, such as oats, or a simple carbohydrate, such as white sugar, determines how quickly this carbohydrate is broken down and enters the bloodstream. The pancreas then releases insulin to remove the sugars from the blood and into the cells for energy. When not needed for energy, it is converted into stored fat. So essentially, the theory that fat makes you fat (so they removed the fat and replaced it with sugar) actually made us gain more fat !!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Sugar is disguised in many different ways and it is important to learn all of the names it goes by so you can avoid it.
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