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March 5, 2014

The State of Sugar

You are probably one of the thousands that do this in an attempt to be healthier. But did you know that the average American still consumes 156 pounds of extra sugar? That is approximately 31 five pound bags of sugar! Now, not ALL sugar is bad. We still need it in our bodies to function. We just need better types of sugar to consume, such as raw cane sugar; and we also need to be aware of how much we consume in our diet.

Surprisingly, these extra pounds of sugar are not only hidden in your favorite junk food. These little grains of sugar pop up in unexpected places such as ketchup, peanut butter, sports drinks, and even that yummy healthy snack yogurt. What is even more shocking is that the category with the highest sugar content is low-fat products! The reason is because they are adding sugar to make up for the lack of tasty fat.

 

So, how can you avoid the over indulgence of sugar?

-Flip that box over: products are required to list their ingredients. So, when you’re at the supermarket, make sure to flip over that package and look for the following ingredients: Fructose, invert sugar, rice/corn/malt syrup, corn sweetener, maltose, sucrose, glucose, syrup, or dextrose. Then the key is to see HOW many grams are in that product. You will be surprised at which products have 25 grams or more. Can you imagine actually eating that much sugar?

-Do you bake? Cut out part of the sugar out of the recipe or replace with unsweetened applesauce or honey. Unlike flour and yeast, sugar can be deducted from a recipe because it’s only sweetens and doesn’t actually affect the baking process.

-Replace Soda with Sparkling Water! Better bubbles that won’t hit your waistline. Soda, even diet, is full of the type of sugar that you do not want in your body. Get your fizzy fix with carbonated agua! This simple tip will go a long way!

-Beware of snacking! Snacks are great but the question is what are you snacking on? Ditch the low-carb bars and small snack package foods. Although they claim to be good for you they’re really just traps where those little extra pounds of sugar hidden. Try looking at healthier choices such as nuts which are not only nutritious but delicious!

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