WHY SHOULD YOU STOP EATING SUGAR

WHY SHOULD YOU STOP EATING SUGAR

First of all, not all sugar is bad for you, there are natural sources of sugar from fruit and honey.  You would still need to watch your consumption of fruit and honey and you need to be aware that this is still sugar and you can eat too much of it which will affect you losing weight or keeping to a steady weight.  Please do not stop eating fruit though as it is full of vitamins, antioxidants, fibre and minerals.  Lower glycemic fruits are berries, cherries, lemons, limes, apples and pears.

When I say sugar I mean the white stuff and also any artificial sugars like saccharin, aspartame, sucralose (splenda) or cane sugar etc.

So here are a few reasons why you should stop eating sugar.  

It can lead to insulin resistance which can then lead to type II diabetes, it is fuel for cancer cells, it promotes weight gain, it impairs white blood cells, it coats your cells and can cause inflammation in your body, it makes the body produce less leptin which is the hormone which tells you to stop eating and it can cause oxidative stress in your body.  

So now you know that avoiding sugar is beneficial for your health and what artificial sugars are and what natural sugar is.  What other foods contain sugar?

Biscuits, pastries, milk chocolate and cakes.  Try to keep these as a treat once in a while.  Also don't buy them as you can't eat it if you don't buy it.  Its much harder if you have children as you probably buy them for them to eat.  

Processed foods which are anything in a box, bottle or bag.  Especially breakfast cereals, tomato ketchup etc.  If you can cut back on processed foods then this is a big step in reducing your sugar intake.  

Fruit juices or bottled and canned soft drinks - look for juice without added sugars and don't drink too much at once.  I think its better to eat your fruit rather than drink it.  I do like black grape juice or pomegranate juice.

Dried fruit - check the ingredients list and make sure it does not contain anything other than fruit!

Fruit flavoured yoghurts.  These are loaded with extra sugar.  It is better to eat natural yoghurt or greek yoghurt and add your own fruit instead.  You can always puree your own fruit to add in.  I love to make apple sauce with cinnamon to mix into my yoghurt.  


What foods could you eat which are not loaded with sugar.

Dark Chocolate - you want to eat it with at least 70% cacao.

Raw honey - raw honey is very nutritious

Some sugar substitutes are - Stevia and coconut sugar

You can of course make your own sweet treats with raw honey or stevia or coconut sugar