New Year New You!

Part 1

With the start of the New Year comes the opportunity for new beginnings.  Many people commit to increasing exercise, decreasing snacking, and look for ways to improve their overall well-being.  Here is the first of 5 steps to help you increase your feelings of wellness and vitality!

1.  Ditch the sugar. 

Sugars: There are two types of sugar

Fructose: It occurs naturally in fresh fruits, giving them their sweetness. Because fructose is very sweet, fruit contains relatively small amounts, and combined with the fiber in fruit, it does not create a problem with blood sugar levels when consuming 1 to 2 servings a day. Today’s standard diet is extremely high in fructose, which is present in many processed foods, sodas, baked goods, crackers, canned goods, and many others. The entire burden of breaking down fructose falls on your liver, where excess fructose is quickly converted into fat, which explains the weight gain and abdominal obesity experienced by so many people. Fructose is the primary cause of non-alcoholic fatty liver and elevates uric acid, which raises your blood pressure, stresses your kidneys, and leads to the chronic, low-level inflammation that is at the core of most chronic diseases

Glucose: The other type of sugar is glucose, which is the most common form of carbohydrate. When you eat starches, your body converts them to glucose, which raises blood sugar levels and supplies your body with energy. When your body breaks down glucose it causes a rise in blood sugar. In order to return your blood sugar to a normal level, the pancreas releases insulin. The insulin carries the glucose to the cells that need extra energy, storing any remaining energy in long-term storage (Your FAT cells). This can result in the chronically elevated blood glucose levels found in type 2-diabetes or metabolic syndrome.

In the 1800s the average American consumed 9 tsp. (45g) of sugar over a 5-day span, which is equal to one can of soda. Currently Americans consume 153 tsp. (3.19 cups)(765g) over a 5-day span, which is equivalent to 17 cans of soda.

The American Heart Association recommends not exceeding:

•    Children – 4 tsp./day (20g)

•    Women – 6 tsp./day (30g) 

•    Men – 9 tsp./day (45g)

Snickers Bar: 30g = 6 tsp. (Fulfills all of a women’s requirement) Skittles: 47g = 9.5 tsp. (Fulfills all of a man’s requirement)                         Mt Dew (20oz bottle): 77g = 15.4 tsp. (Over double a women’s daily requirement  and almost double a mans daily requirement)
                                    Snapple Lemon 16oz: 46g = 9.2tsp (Fulfills all of a mans requirement)

What to Do:

When you want something sweet, what can you do? Try some natural sweetness from a piece of fruit, or a smoothie.  Replace the sodas with mineral water, and lightly sweetened or unsweetened tea.  So many people think fat is the cause of weight gain, when in all reality our body needs healthy fat. The REAL culprit is sugar.  Start small and gradually move from processed sweets and soda to more healthy choices like fruit!  

 Donna Goldberg, NTP