Healthy Bite 007 - Safely Sweet

Welcome to the Super Simple Healthy Podcast! This is Christina Moyes. Sugar addiction. I hear it all the time. I can’t get away from the sweet stuff! Do you crave sweets and no matter how hard you try, they keep calling your name? Today we’ll talk about why controlling sugar is so important, which sugars to avoid and a couple of simple steps you can take to get off the sugar rollercoaster! Safely Sweet Sugar addiction seems to be an increasing problem. People crave sugar throughout the day and can’t seem to stop no matter how hard they try to “be good”. So, what’s the deal? Why is the sugar habit so HARD to kick? Let’s first examine how sugar works in the body. Before sugar enters the bloodstream it gets broken down into two simple sugars: glucose and fructose. The body produces glucose naturally if we don’t get it in our diet. However, there is no physiological need for fructose and we do not produce a significant amount. The fructose found in fruits and vegetables gets metabolized by the liver, turned into glycogen and stored as energy for future use. However, when excess sugar bombards the liver from sources like processed foods honey, fruit juices, concentrates and syrups, the fructose gets turned into fat. This can lead to all sorts of dis-ease in the body including inflammation, fatty liver disease, Type II diabetes and coronary heart disease. There are two things I would like to emphasize today: 1. Sugar substitutes or diet, light or sugar free products are NOT better for you. A 2004 study in the International Journal of Obesity suggests that when we offer our bodies sweet diet drinks but give them no calories, they crave real sugar even more. "Substitutes may not signal the same satiety hormones as sugar, making it easier to overeat." 2. Second, in the April 2011, New York Times magazine cover story, the president of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center was quoted, “I have eliminated refined sugar from my diet. Ultimately it’s something I can do to decrease my risk of cancer.” There is evidence and multiple studies that show that the overconsumption of sugar can contribute to cancer. OK. We know that too much sugar = bad. But what makes it so hard to quit? Research shows that sugar may be 6x as addictive as cocaine. This is because a small amount causes a surge of dopamine in the brain – that feel-good neurotransmitter. And yet the more sugar you take in, the more desensitized your brain becomes producing less and less dopamine, so it takes even more to create the same feel-good result. People with low dopamine activity may be more prone to addiction. So what can you do to get off the sweet stuff? 1) First, phase out sugary drinks of all kinds. Soda, ice tea, fruit juice or sports drinks, they tend to be laden with sugar and will spike your insulin levels making you crave sweets even more. If you have a tough time switching to plain water, try adding fruit to water or seltzer (like cucumber, lemon or berries) for flavor. 2) Keep fresh fruit as a substitute for desserts and candy. 3) Stay under 25g/day, or 6 teaspoons of sugar. For a complete list called “The Hidden Names of Sugar”, visit my website: www.supersimplehealthy.com/downloads and for additional support in kicking your sugar addiction, please feel free to contact me. Mention this podcast and receive ½ off your initial “Kickin Sugar Addiction” Strategy Session. Until next time: Keep it Simple. Be Healthy. https://supersimplehealthy.com