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Have your whole family go 7 days without food sweetened with sugar or corn syrup and see the results for yourself. Don’t forget to check the ingredients on store bought food for sugar or corn syrup. You may find everyone craving sugar. You may find that your family has an addiction – much like alcoholism, or nicotine addiction (such as being addicted to cigarettes), or cocaine addiction. Only this is sugar addiction. We know that alcoholism, nicotine addiction and cocaine addiction over time can kill you. You think, well, sugar just isn’t that serious. However, for the chronic user or someone who just has to have it, sugar may take a longer time, but in the long run, it can be a factor in your illnesses or death by contributing to obesity, hypertension, diabetes and the other conditions listed above.
There are steps you can take to give your body a chance at good health by cutting back on sweets sweetened with sugar and corn syrup. Replace your candy bars, cookies, etc. with fruit. Make a very conscious effort to drastically reduce or eliminate your sugar intake. Drink water instead of soda and pre-made sweet tea. Put a slice of lemon or lime in your water for a little flavor. Reserve sweet food for special occasions. And even then, be sure to use healthy sweeteners . To sweeten your tea, use agave syrup or stevia. Agave syrup is made from the agave cactus and has a low glycemic index. That means that it does not make your blood sugar level spike very high as regular sugar and corn syrup do. This is good news for diabetics. Agave has a mild flavor and tastes sweeter than sugar, so you would use less and you get more for your money. It can be purchased at health food stores and at the Quigless Natural Health Center. Stevia can be used also. Stevia is an herbal sweetener and not a sugar at all – it just tastes sweet. It has no glycemic index so it has no effect of blood sugar levels. However, if too much is used, it has a bitter after taste. Xylitol is another choice sweetener, made from fruits, with a low glycemic index. Again, these can be purchased at health food stores and at the Center. Honey can be used as well, but keep in mind that honey has a high glycemic index. If you’re not concerned about that and are not pre-diabetic or diabetic, then honey is fine.
Prepare yourself for sugar reduction or elimination. Make a list of sweets that you eat on a regular basis, every week. Next to that list, make another list of food items you can replace the sugary foods with. For example, if you like jelly or jam which is made with sugar, replace it with fruit juice sweetened jelly or jam. That can be purchased at a regular grocery store. Replace the cookies with a pear, etc. Make another list of all the things you consider to be the Sweet Things of Life such as your team scoring, your “A”, someone’s compliment or someone’s expression of appreciation when you complimented them. For some people, it may even be a sunny day. Use your imagination and let it be fun. As you reduce your sugar and if you get a craving for it, pull out your lists and read them. Add to them as time goes on because good health and life are a work in progress. |