Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Reduce Refined Sugar, Why? What is the Big Deal Anyhow?

Why is eating refined sugar such a big deal anyhow? We have been told to reduce our sugar for years, but why? "Too much sugar will rot your teeth!" Isn't that what Grandma always used to say? Well she may be right, but if that is the only hold up, dental care has come a long way in the last 50 years. I certainly want my teeth to last my entire life, but if worst came to worst, I can certainly remedy that argument with modern medicine. There are a lot of other reasons sugar should be reduced that are less easily remedied.

Refined sugar consumed over the course of a lifetime has been linked to heart disease, diabetes, stomach problems, hardening of the arteries, depression, ADD, ADHD, obesity, and other serious illnesses. There is a lot of research that explains the link to these diseases and conditions in great detail. But for me as scary as these negative health conditions are I like to keep things simple, if I am filling up on sweets, I am missing the opportunity to eat something that could give my body health.

As parents, we really need to consider what this means for our children. What kind of patterns are we starting for our children when we load their little bodies with refined sugars and empty calories? What type of path are we leading them down? Giving our children sugar not only fills them up with empty calories it actually robs their growing bodies of vital nutrients. Sugar actually leaches minerals and B-vitamins from your child's body.

Reducing refined sugar can dramatically help our bodies and our children's growing bodies. Unless we are aware of an existing medical condition such as diabetes or hypoglycemia, remedying this issue is quite simple. Make the switch from highly refined sugars to natural ones. Provide natural sweets in your home that offer nutrients, living enzymes, and a wide variety of vitamins and minerals.

We don't have to eliminate sweets from our homes; we simply need to make a shift. Simple choices can make dramatic differences in our personal health and the health of a growing child. Here are a few tips:

Keep fresh fruit on hand. When you go to the pool or the park simply say, "If you are hungry I brought some apples." Who is going to pick a filling delicious sweet apple when a cookie is offered first? Not most children. An apple is filled with living enzymes and nutrients that help your child grow and give them energy to perform well in school, sports, music, and other activities. -And chances are if you bring apples for the kids, that will be what you snack on as well.

Prepare fresh desserts and treats at home. Toss a variety of your favorite fruits into a blender and enjoy a nourishing fruit smoothie. Add some raw cacao and you have a chocolate shake. Throw some bananas into the freezer, and then run them through an ice cream press. You will be surprised how much your children will love these sweets. And you can feel great about serving them instead of handing out highly refined sugars.

Use natural sweeteners such as raw agave nectar, raw honey, or stevia. There are many great natural sweeteners on the market today. Simply visit your local health food store and ask them to explain the pros and cons of each.

We all want to live a life of abundance and physical health. Start today by making a simply shift to lowering the refined sugar in your diet. We all want to give our children the best opportunities in life. We go out of our way to create rich opportunities and experiences for our children. We spend time, money, and energy taking them to lessons, tutors, and classes. Why not create the opportunity for our children to have true health and vitality. If you feel like your child is healthy now, imagine what he or she might be like when filling his or her body with nutrient rich foods. You and your child could experience a new level of health...and keep your teeth!

The answer to why we should reduce the refined sugar in our diet and our children's is simple. It gives us more opportunities to fill our bodies with nutrients and life giving foods. We can still enjoy sweets, just keep them natural. Fresh fruits, naturally sweetened foods, and other naturally sweet desserts and treats are delicious and provide nutrients. It isn't necessary to remove sugar from our diets, just make a better choice and select natural sweets!

Carolyn Pennington is the author of this article and Naturally Sweet Recipes; delicious recipes your entire family will enjoy. Please visit http://www.naturallysweetrecipes.com for more info about the book.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Why Refined Sugar is the Most Dangerous "Food" You Can Eat

If you only make one improvement to your diet this year, I hope it is to replace refined sugar with raw food sweeteners. If you do, I can guarantee you that smoother digestion, more relaxed muscles, more peaceful emotions and increased mental clarity are soon to follow.

Before looking at the negative health consequences of eating refined sugar, let's have a quick look at how it's made. This will give you some insight into why it affects the body the way it does. The majority of sugar comes from sugar cane (Saccharum spp.) which is a dense tall grass that grows in tropical regions. The juice from sugar cane is traditionally used as a sweetener from India to the Caribbean. And, interestingly, raw sugar cane juice is pretty good for you, being alkalizing and relatively low on the glycemic index.

But in the 1500s manufacturers began refining sugar cane so that it could be more easily transported overseas, especially back to Europe. Over the years, the process has become increasingly complex and dependent on chemicals. Here is what happens between cutting sugar cane in the fields and delivering refined sugar to your local store.

After harvest, machines at a sugar mill wash, cut, shred and press the juice out of the cane stalks. This liquid is then heated to boiling and treated with chemical solvents to remove impurities. Then it is moved to huge tanks and heated again to evaporate the water content. This leaves a thick syrup that is placed in a centrifuge machine to form the syrup into crystals.

These crystals are then transported to a sugar refinery where they are heated to boiling again, treated with bleach and other chemicals and then filtered through bone char, which is a powder made from cow or pig bones. After filtering, the syrup is then centrifuged again to produce refined white sugar. Brown sugar is created by adding molasses before putting it in the centrifuge.

Given the fact that it's heated to boiling at least three times, treated with chemicals, filtered through bone powder and forced to crystallize, it's no wonder that refined sugar has literally had the life force beaten out of it.

Refined sugar, white or brown, literally has zero nutritional value - no minerals, no vitamins, no fiber, no enzymes, no fats - nothing of value for the body. Instead it's toxic to the body. You can live longer on pure water alone, than on water mixed with sugar.

Here is what refined sugar does in the body:

It produces an acidic condition in the digestive system. This drains the body of vitamins and minerals and the consequences can be life threatening. For example the metabolism of sugar requires leaches calcium from the bones and teeth which can lead to tooth decay or osteoporosis. Sugar also depletes the body of potassium and magnesium, which are required for proper cardiac function, and is therefore a major factor in heart disease.

It compromises the body's immune system and stresses the pancreas by forcing it to produce a rush of digestive enzymes. This can lead to the formation gallstones and diabetes.

It depletes stores of vitamin B, which is our brain food, and can interfere with memory, concentration and other mental functions.

It makes the blood very thick and sticky, inhibiting much of the blood flow into the minute capillaries that supply our skin gums and teeth with vital nutrients. Refined sugar has been shown to increase wrinkles and dry aged skin.

When excess sugar is eaten, it is first stored in the liver. With continued consumption the liver expands like a balloon and begins to function poorly. An improperly functioning liver can quickly lead to high blood pressure, skin disorders and acne to name a few.

In addition, most people consume far more sugar than their bodies can possibly use for energy. When this happens, the liver converts the extra sugar into molecules called triglycerides and stores it as fat, or else produces cholesterol from the by-products of sugar and deposits it in veins and arteries. Sugar is thus a major factor in obesity and arteriosclerosis.

It also negatively effects behavior. Refined sugar consumption has been linked to violent behavior, hypertension, and learning impediments. In one study violence in prisons was remarkably reduced simply by eliminating refined sugar and starch from prison diets. And Singapore in 1991 banned sugary soft drink sales from all schools and youth centers, citing the danger that sugar poses to the mental and physical health of children

Finally refined sugar is an addictive substance. Abruptly giving up sugar often brings on the sort of withdrawal symptoms associated with narcotic drugs- fatigue, lassitude, depression, moodiness, headaches, aching limbs. This happens as the body eliminates the left over toxins from the sugar and begins to bring itself back into balance.

As you can see, putting processed sugar into your body makes no sense at all. It is something like pouring sugar into the gas tank of a million dollar racing car. Only do it if you want to screw up your car/body for some reason.

Fortunately for all of us with a sweet tooth, there are many natural raw sweeteners that are not only harmless to the body, but actually support it. The highest choice is to use 100% unrefined and untreated sweeteners. These are what I use exclusively:

Fruits,
Dried fruits like dates or raisins,
Pure cane juice,
Raw, unprocessed cane sugar,
Agave syrup,
Stevia and Stevia extract,
Yacon syrup,
Raw honey,
Mezquite powder,

Most of these are available at any health food store. Just make sure to ask if they are minimally processed and raw (meaning unheated).

Whatever you choose, you can be sure of this: eliminating refined sugar from your diet is one of the kindest and most loving things you could ever do for your body. Please pass this information on to anyone in your life who you care about.

Some interesting sugar facts:

Sir Frederick Banting, the co discoverer of insulin, noted in 1929 that among sugar plantation owners who ate large amounts of refined sugar, diabetes was common. Among native cane-cutters, who only chewed the raw cane, he saw no diabetes.

In 1915, the average of sugar consumption was around 7-10 Kg per person per year. Today the average person consumes about 70 kg

In 2002, almost 132 million tons of sugar were consumed worldwide.

Sugar is used in leather tanning, printers' inks and dyes and even in textile sizing and finishing

Film stuntmen use bottles and plate glass windows made of sugar

Chemical manufacturers use sugar to grow penicillin

Sugar hardens asphalt. It slows the setting of ready-mixed concrete and glue.

About 30% of refined sugar comes from sugar beets. The rest comes from sugar cane

One 12 oz. Cola contains 11 teaspoons of sugar.

Sugar was one of the first pharmaceutical ingredients used, as it still is today, to mask the bitter taste of medicines

Mark Ament is the author of several books and programs on natural health, including his unique introduction to natural healing course called the "5 Master Keys To Ultimate Healing." To get your free copy and learn more about Mark's work visit http://www.healingvibes.com

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Brown Rice Syrup - A Good Substitute For Refined Sugar

Brown rice syrup (BRS) is a wonderful substitute for plain old refined sugar. Like its name implies, it is made from brown rice; therefore, it is considered a complex carbohydrate and generally accepted as a better sweetener than refined sugar which is a simple sugar. It also has a lower glycemic index than regular sugar, making it ideal for diabetics or anyone looking for a healthier alternative to refined sugar.

Brown rice syrup is similar in appearance, texture, and flavor to honey. It even smells a little like honey. Some say BRS has a buttery, caramel-like flavor, but don't think you're going to be eating anything that tastes like caramel candies! Even though it has a similar flavor to honey, I found that it did not alter the taste of my recipes. Feel free to use it in your recipes wherever you would use regular sugar.

Substituting brown rice syrup for sugar can be a challenge since one is granulated and the other is a liquid, and BRS is only half as sweet as refined sugar, but it can be done successfully. Just remember a few important tips when using BRS in place of regular sugar.

BRS is not as sweet as sugar, so you will need to use approximately 1 and 1/3 Cup of BRS to 1 Cup of sugar.

BRS is a liquid, so you will need to reduce the other liquids in your recipe. Reduce other liquids by about 1/4 Cup for every 1Cup of BRS.

For reasons beyond my scientific knowledge, it's a good idea to include 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda per 1 Cup of brown rice syrup.

I made a chocolate mousse using brown rice syrup, and the texture was heavenly. I believe refined sugar would have made the mousse gritty, but the BRS gave the mousse a smooth, rich texture. In some instances, a liquid form of sugar is actually preferred and BRS is the perfect solution.

As you can see, it does take some planning and tweaking to use brown rice syrup in your current recipes, but its health benefits are truly worth the effort.

Refined sugar is terrible for your body, so why don't you try this wonderful alternative.

Sugar is great - if it's not refined. Better sugars do exist and it's easy and painless to incorporate them into your life.

For tips, information, products, and recipes that will help you become a healthier person, visit my website at:

http://www.bettersugar.com/

As an advocate for good health, I enjoy sharing my knowledge of natural sugars so others can lead healthy, happy lives.

Thanks!

Friday, June 11, 2010

The Dangers of Refined Sugar and Its Impact on Fitness

Sugar: Is it Food or Poison?

Refined sugar is ubiquitous in our culture. Simply visiting a local supermarket, one is convinced that the most common ingredient found in our food today is refined sugar. Omitting the obvious sources like candy and soda pop (which usually occupy 2-3 isles), sugar is hidden in almost all processed foods in the forms of evaporated cane juice, high fructose corn syrup, and molasses. But how unhealthy is sugar? Is it only its high caloric content that induces obesity and all its associated diseases? Or is sugar far more harmful than the calories it adds on?

As a personal trainer, I often advise my clients to avoid refined sugar. Many that are active still believe that as long as they are active, sugar does not have impact on their health. Based on the research I have done, that is a false statement. In fact, refined sugar may seriously debunk your fitness efforts.

First, sugar is not real food! Refined sugar is stripped of all its nutritious values. Consequently, refined sugar cannot be effectively utilized by the body, and if it is not used for immediate energy it will be stored in the liver. Liver capacity for sugar is limited. Daily intake of refined sugar can cause the liver to release sugar back into the blood stream in the form of fatty acids. This often causes unhealthy weight gain that could lead to obesity, and eventually other problems like heart disease.

Refined sugar has no vitamins and no minerals. However, the true dangers of refined sugar are its metabolites; purvic acid and abnormal sugar containing five atoms. According to Dr. William Coda Martin, a poison is any substance that can induce a disease. Based on this general definition, refined sugar can be easily categorized as a poison. These metabolites are toxins to the body, mainly because they interfere with respiration of cells. If the cells are not getting their oxygen, they will eventually die. The death of these cells can take a long time. Therefore, daily intake of sugar may ensue a degenerative disease like cancer, diabetes, osteoarthritis and many more.

Effects of sugar on health and fitness. Sugar has been linked to poor health and obesity for several decades. The following list explains how sugar can have an impact on your health and impede your fitness goals.

o Refined sugar leaches the reserve of vitamins and minerals stored in your body. Depletion of these nutrients impedes the rebuilding process of tissue therefore adversely affecting the response to exercise.
o Refined sugar increase acidity in the body. To neutralize this acid state, the body draws calcium from bones and teeth making them weaker and more susceptible to degeneration.
o Excess sugar is stored in liver. When liver capacity is reached, excess sugar is released into blood stream in the form of fatty acid. Sugar it is then stored as fat on vital organs (possibly causing their malfunctioning) and area least metabolically active (i.e. belly).
o Refined sugar invades the lymphatic system (disease fighting system). This results in increased white blood cells production and therefore the rebuilding of tissue slows down. The response to strengthening training decreases since the body cannot rebuild its self as effectively.
o Since sugar has an effect on the lymphatic system, the immune system is less resilient. One is therefore more susceptible to attacks on the body (i.e. common cold).

It is clear that sugar has more harm to health than the mere calories it may add to ones diet. Use caution when choosing foods that may have refined sugar and try to replace them with natural sweets like fruit, maple syrup, stevia, or raw unfiltered honey.

Stop Sugar Crash and Regain your Energy

What happens what energy fluctuates throughout the day? Does refined sugar have anything to do with that?

There is good chance that those who consume refined sugar often experience a sugar crash. Americans consume approximately 175 pounds of refined sugar a year. Sugar is omni-present in our diet for two reasons. It is cheap to produce. Nearly all of highly processed foods in supermarkets have some corn syrup or other sugar. Corn grows easily through out Midwest and is relatively cheap to harvest. Secondly, processed sugar products, like protein bars, are easily stored and replace REAL meals for a lot of people.

Finally, many people consume sugar because it gives them a short burst of energy. Sugar is not digested in the stomach but enters the lower intestine and thence the blood stream quickly. This leads to brisk insulin secretion which causes the sugar to be absorbed by the tissue at an accelerated rate. This is why we feel awaken after sugar consumption. Eventually, however, the blood sugar level drops and most feel fatigued, irritated, and lethargic.

The body learns quickly. So, the more sugar we consume the more we crave it. The metabolism becomes dependent on refined sugar, so most us feel the need to consume it. Consequently, in attempt to avoid sugar crash most consume sugar throughout the day in order to maintain focus and energy to get through the day.

The following are some tips to avoid sugar crash:

o Eat a balanced breakfast with no sugar (i.e. eggs, bacon, and oatmeal)
o Limit sweets to 2 times a week
o Stay away from white flour for lunch and eat plenty of vegetables
o Eat 4-5 metabolically balanced meals a day (protein, fat, carbohydrates)
o Eat sweets only after a large balanced meal (with plenty of protein)
o Eat plenty of complex carbs throughout the day (vegetables and whole grains)
o Don't eat sugar before sleep

Ralph Klisiewicz, is a certified personal trainer and a certified muscle activation technique specialist working in Chicago area - Chicago Personal Trainer

Sugar - Bad Or Good Carbohydrate?

Do we need sugar at all? No, not pure sugar - known as refined sugar. Sugar only contains empty calories, calories without any nutritional value. But the body indeed needs carbohydrate, which is also sugar but in a more complex form. Potatoes, rice, bread and pasta are all pure carbohydrate but with a big nutritional value! The body breaks down carbohydrates into simple sugar and then uses it for energy.

Does sugar make you fat? Yes, but only if you eat more than your body can handle - too much sugar will be stored as fat in the fat cells all over the body.

Are we already eating too much sugar? Yes, way too much! There is too much "hidden" sugar in food we eat each day - over 80% of the sugar we eat is hidden in "every day foods". Lets just take ketchup as an example. Ketchup contains far more sugar than most chocolate does! People eat in general around 100 grams of sugar every day - or 41 kilos a year!! That's two times more than we should!

What's the different between the sugar in fruit and refined sugar? Sugar in fruit will be absorbed more slowly by the body than refined sugar and will keep insulin and blood sugar stabile - refined sugar will make insulin and blood sugar rise very quickly!

Can sugar be dangerous then? Yes, because sugar is a mild form of poison - eating too much of it will affect the body in a negative way! Let me try to explain how:

- Sugar will disturb the natural bacteria flora in the stomach, which in turn can lead to candida!

- Just 100 grams of refined sugar can suppress the immune system significantly!

- Sugar slows down the absorption of calcium and magnesium!

- Refined sugar disturbs the balance of normal insulin production and a normal blood sugar level!

- It will change the metabolism so salt and water will be retained which will further lead to high blood pressure!

- Sugar affects the blood concentration of serotonin and beta-endorfin - a natural hormone in the body, which affects moods. That's why some people crave sugar - those people get "high" on sugar and are addicted to the daily "sugar-rush".

Another reason to cut back on sugar intake is if the food has a sugar content that is too high, it will replace the nutritional value of the food with those empty calories and a lot of important vitamins and minerals will be missing! So the bottom line is try to avoid too much refined sugar - if you want that sweet taste, then go for some of the sweet fruit out there. Just try to eat a banana, mandarin or an apricot, and your sugar craving will be gone for many hours!

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Food

Sponsor Links