The average American consumes about 32 teaspoons of sugar per day, which amounts to 77 pounds of sugar per year. And it’s not completely our fault. We know sugar can be found in obvious products, such as sodas, candy, and ice cream but it is also added to almost all processed foods. For example
breads, meats, and condiments like salad dressing and ketchup. Think you are doing yourself a favor by eating “low-fat and fat-free” foods? When fats are removed from processed foods, they are replaced with sugar. Most people view sugary foods as comforting. tasty, satisfying, and irresistible treats. The more accurate description: addictive, toxic and deadly.
The most common and frequently found sugars are:
- Fructose: found in fruits
- Glucose: found in honey, fruits and vegetables
- Lactose: found in milk
- Sucrose: made up of glucose and fructose and found in plants
The human body was not designed to consume excessive amounts of sugar, especially fructose. It metabolizes directly into fat and cause a whole host of health problems. Studies have shown that fructose is readily used by cancer cells – it “feeds” the cancer cells, promoting cell division and speeding their growth, which allows the cancer to spread faster. Scary stuff, right? But wait, it gets worse. Food scientists went and created high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). This highly processed form of sugar that is cheaper yet 20 percent sweeter than regular table sugar and far more addictive.
6 SURPRISING FOODS THAT CONTAIN HIGH LEVELS OF HFCS
Sweetened Yogurt
Yogurt is often advertised as a healthy snack. Companies claim that it’s low-calorie, nutrient-dense and high in probiotics. Most low-fat and fat-free yogurts, are loaded with sugar.
Salad Dressing
It is important to always inspect the labels of store-bought salad dressings, especially those advertised as low-calorie or fat-free. To make up for the flavor that gets removed along with the fat, companies add sugar or HFCS.
Granola Bars
Granola bars consists of rolled oats combined with various other ingredients, such as dried fruit and nuts. The amounts of added sugar in many granola bars are similar to the amounts found in some candy bars.
Breakfast Cereal
Cereal is a popular and convenient breakfast food. Many cereals are advertised as healthy, but they are often heavily sweetened with sugar or HFCS. In fact, there are several cereals that contain more added sweeteners than many types of dessert.
Sauces and Condiments
Sauces and condiments can seem like an innocent way to add flavor and texture to your meal. Many of these products have HFCS listed as the first ingredient. Two products to be particularly cautious of are ketchup and barbecue sauce.
Coffee Creamer
Coffee creamer seems harmless until you see the ingredients that get added to it. It’s typically made mostly of HFCS, in addition to several other unhealthy ingredients.
10 WAYS SUGAR NEGATIVELY IMPACTS YOUR HEALTH
Aside from the well known diseases: Heart Disease, Obesity, Diabetes and Cancer; sugar can:
- Cause Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
- Increase Inflammation
- Promote Candida
- Accelerate wrinkling and aging skin
- Make your blood acidic
- Create the urge to binge eat
- Contribute to ulcers
- Contribute to Adrenal Fatigue
- Suppress your immune system
- Cause arthritis
TIPS TO REDUCE SUGAR CRAVINGS
Increase your consumption of healthy fats, such as omega-3, saturated, and monounsaturated fats. Your body needs fats from for optimal functioning. Healthy fats should make up at least 70 percent of your diet. Some of the best sources include organic butter from grass fed cows, (unheated) virgin olive oil, coconut oil, raw nuts like pecans and macadamia, free-range eggs, avocado, and wild caught Alaskan salmon.
Drink Water. Swap out all the sweetened beverages like sodas and fruit juices for water or sparkling water.
Add fermented foods to your meals. The beneficial bacteria in these healthful foods can support your digestion and provide detoxification support, which helps lessen the fructose burden on your liver. Some options are organic yogurt and kefir made from grass-fed milk, and fermented vegetables.
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