Sugar

**Chea** · 01-10-2005, 08:38 PM

Sugar - Get Rid Of It

Think you are a sugar addict? You haven't met me yet. I must confess that I am one of the worst, terrible. I am blessed I have not had any major health issues from it.....yet. It comes and goes, and I managed to be sugar free for a couple of years, but I "fell off the wagon" and have set a goal to cut back at least 50 percent this year. You should too. Is it easy? No.
What Is Sugar?

It's not just the baking and table sugars you are familiar with. It is everywhere, in almost everything and is masked by other names. Some are blacklisted, some are ok to use in moderation.

Sugar basically is a carbohydrate available in just about any fruit and vegetable. They come in simple (have one or two sugars) and complex (have 3 or more sugars) varieties. For the most part the simple sugars tend to be the blacklisted probably because they are the most abused.

Examples and terms of sugars are:

Sugar Cane - Saccharum officinarum - Plant from which most common sugars are processed from. Can also be used raw.
Sucrose (Sugar Cane) - Raw sugar, granulated or table sugar, brown sugar, confectioner's sugar, and turbinado sugar.
Fructose - Simple sugar from fruit (beet sugar).
Galactose and lactose - Simple sugars from milk.
Glucose - Found in fruit in smaller amounts, also made from corn syrup.
Dextrose - Is glucose and water.

Jaggery - Pure, unrefined natural sugar.
Corn Sweeteners (corn syrup) - Maltose, glucose, and dextrose. (Processed)
Brown Sugar - Obtained from molasses. (Non-processed)
Molasses or Muscavado - Sugar cane processing residue. Has nutrients.(Non-processed)
Turbinado - Pure, refined sugar. Normally processed without chemicals.(Processed)
Honey - Fructose, glucose, and water, produced by bees. (Non-processed)
Maple Sugar - Fructose, fructose, and glucose from Maple trees. (Non-processed)
Maltose - Simple sugars from vegetables, bread and beer ((Non-processed)process of fermentation).
Sorbitol - Made from glucose, found in berries. Is absorbed by the body at a slower rate. (Processed)

What's The Issue?

You all ready know the health hazards associated with sugar so I wont re-invent the wheel here. Where many go wrong is not knowing how much sugar is all ready in food or ingredients, and we add more. It all adds up to a staggering amount of total sugar. The USDA recommendation is no more than 10 tsp. of ADDED SUGAR per day.

Here are some staggering statistics of what is in some popular foods. The largest assailant for added sugar is soft drinks.

Snickers Bar - 5 3/4 tsp.
8 oz low fat yogurt - 7 tsp.
Pepsi - 10 1/4 tsp.
Sunkist Orange Soda - 13 tsp.
1 cup UNSWEETENED cereal - 14 tsp. - so we add more!
8 oz Jello - 8 tsp. sugar
1 glazed donut - 6 tsp.
1 slice white bread - 3 tsp.

What About Sugar Substitutes?

Simply, they are all chemically made, including Splenda and have their risks. In my opinion, it's way better to cut back or eliminate added sugars and focus on natural sugars. Herbs and spices can be sweet or give the impression of sweetness.

The best sugar substitute is the herb stevia. Others have used Licorice as a sweetener. You can also use spices like coriander, anise and cinnamon to sweeten teas. Other suggesions are: substituting with fruit sugars, apple sauce and natural juices (not the frozen concentrates with loads of sugar).
Protein intake has been known to curb sugar cravings.
Look into psyllium for feeling fuller and gymnema for cravings and balancing blood sugar.