Even if you don't consider yourself addicted to sugar, there is hidden sugar in so many foods that you may not be aware of... and eating sugar → makes us crave sugar! Check out the labels, because there are over 56 names for sugar! Look for sugar names ending in “ose,” such as maltose, fructose, dextrose, sucrose, etc.
Hopefully you will recognize the ones like brown sugar, but others include high fructose corn syrup, molasses, cane sugar, corn sweetener, raw sugar, syrup, honey or fruit juice concentrates. If something sounds like a sweetener, it probably is. Use your search engine to find out what you're about to eat!
Sadly, all of the unhealthy artificial sweeteners that researchers suggest prevent us from associating sweetness with caloric intake and in turn make us crave more sweets. Yikes! 😬
You see, if you invite sugar into your body, it’s going to want to have a party and invite all of its friends...and they are just going to leave your body feeling trashed. 😬
That’s because when you consume sugar, your blood sugar rises quickly and then falls, leaving you craving more “energy”. But it’s FALSE energy - and we don't want that! We want to keep our blood sugar levels under control without the ups and downs.
Have you heard of the Glycemic Index (GI)? It is a value assigned to foods based on how slowly or quickly those foods will cause a spike in your blood sugar level, and may over time lead to health problems such as diabetes, cancer, weight gain, etc. Foods low on the GI scale tend to release glucose slowly and steadily whereas foods high on the GI release glucose quickly. For the average person, the slow and steady release of glucose in low-glycemic foods is what we need to eat in order to keep our blood glucose under control.
Low glycemic index (GI of 55 or less): Most fruits and vegetables, beans, minimally processed grains, pasta, low-fat dairy foods, and nuts.
Moderate glycemic index (GI 56 to 69): White and sweet potatoes, corn, white rice, couscous, breakfast cereals such as Cream of Wheat and Mini Wheats.
High glycemic index (GI of 70 or higher): White bread, rice cakes, most crackers, bagels, cakes, doughnuts, croissants, most packaged breakfast cereals.
Maltodextrin, Maltose, Dextrose and Glucose all have a Glycemic Index of 100 or higher which is not good!
What healthy substitutes can you use instead of white sugar?
Monk Fruit - Glycemic Index: 0
Stevia - Glycemic Index: 0
Yacon Syrup - Glycemic Index: 1
Coconut Palm Sugar - Glycemic Index: 35
Raw Honey - Glycemic Index: 25-50
Date Paste - Glycemic Index: 42
Pure Maple Syrup - Glycemic Index: 54
Bananas - Glycemic Index: 62
Instead of adding sugar to your coffee, consider adding stevia with coconut oil instead. Or try adding a few berries with raw honey to your Greek yogurt instead of sugar, or swapping chocolate chips for dates or bananas in your next recipe.
Keep a few healthy foods ready to eat (think fresh or natural if possible), so when a craving comes, you have a quick, healthy substitute on hand and you don't have to give it a second thought! You can win this battle and the fight will get easier with every small victory.
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