Sugar Breakdown

This doesn't mean I'm having a breakdown from not eating sugar, nor is it a new dance. I'd like to run through the various forms of sugars. Remember what we learned in the last post - even natural sugars cause blood sugar imbalances, so eat in moderation. Avoid consuming sugar by itself, but instead try to make it a part of a healthy meal. If you can't live without your sugar desserts, try to limit them to 3 times a week, and try some cookies made with butter and eggs after a salmon dinner, or some natural ice cream after eating a bowl of soup.

Natural Sugars
Honey - I love honey. I can't lie. I eat Crystal's All Natural straight from the 5 pound jar. It costs $25 for a 5 pounds, and is unrefined, unfiltered, so it contains enzymes, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-microbial and anti-oxidant properties, and minerals and vitamins. It's definitely better for you than regular ol' sugar, as it is full of its own enzymes and doesn't call on the body to produce the enzymes lacking in refined sugar. Honey doesn't call on the body's nutrients to metabolize, so those nutrients are able to be used to metabolize fat and cholesterol, which means less fat on your body! It's also a great remedy for sore throats, or beating any kind of respiratory illness. Just add cayenne pepper, ginger, honey, and raw apple cider vinegar and sip. Does the trick!

Maple Syrup - Maple syrup actually has more trace minerals than honey! It is a good source of zinc and manganese, which together help support a healthy immune system.

Sugars to avoid
From the website Splenda (Sucralose) Toxicity Exposed,
"New chemical sweeteners (like Splenda) and the sweetener blends (aspartame, sucralose and acesulfame K blended together in one product) may be causing users to show signs of weight gain, disruption of sleep patterns, sexual dysfunction, increases in cancer, MS, Lupus, diabetes, and a list of epidemic degenerative diseases." Aspartame breaks the blood barrier entering the brain and wreaking havoc on the nervous system. Not really what you signed up for, huh?

The artificial sweeteners may take on these brands: Sweet'n Low, Equal, NutraSweet, Splenda, Altern etc. Please avoid them at all costs.


Watch this informative video on HFCS - high fructose corn syrup!

Agave Nectar or Syrup - It's a highly refined form of fructose.


Fruit juice-That's a lot of calories and a lot of sugar for one little drink! Try water instead.

I hope you have been convinced of the dangers and health risks of sugar. I used to be a chocoholic, and I am still known to order a LARGE dessert and polish it off by myself. I understand the addiction. But I like my skin, nervous system, clean teeth, clear arteries, cancer-free body, and on down the line, far more than a momentary treat. Of course I indulge, but the ironic thing is most of the time I wish I hadn't.

Gear up! I'd love to hear from people as to how they're doing with their sugar-free week. My hope is that we will minimize sugar for all ten weeks, but go hard at least for the first one. You'll be surprised at how your taste buds change. You just might reach for a handful of nuts instead of the oreo cookie, come March.

Remind me (again) why we're not eating sugar??

In the 1800s, the average American consumed about 10 pounds of sugar a year. In 1996, studies showed that American sugar consumption was at 170 pounds per person!! (That's 46 teaspoons a day.) Staying aware, reading labels, and eating as many whole foods as possible can reduce your sugar intake enormously. For a very scary, but informative read, check out Dr. Nancy Appleton's article"146 Reasons Why Sugar is Ruining Your Health".

To be honest, I've been stalling this entry for awhile, because I feel like I could write a book about it. But I keep getting the question. What does it mean to be sugar free next week? I didn't want to commit to an answer, and I still won't. I think it's an individual choice. Depending on your goal, your diet may look a little different. Some people want to lose weight; others want to detox; others are interested in maintaining health. Let's look at the different kinds of sugar, and what effect it has on our bodies.

Types of Sugars
Most of our sugars end in -ose, and sugar alcohols end in -itol. That's a great way to read a label, even if you can't pronounce the word! Here are some common names for sugar on labels: sugar, white sugar, brown sugar, confectioner’s sugar, corn syrup, dextrin, honey, invert sugar, maple syrup, raw sugar, beet sugar, cane sugar, corn sweeteners, evaporated cane juice, high fructose corn syrup, malt, molasses, sorbitol, erythritol, xylitol, mannitol, lactitol and maltitol.

Glucose - blood sugar
Fructose - the main sugar found in fruit
galactose - milk sugar
dextrose - corn sugar
Sucrose - table sugar
maltose - starchy sugar (from vegetables)
High fructose corn syrup - found in MANY processed foods

What happens when I eat sugar?
The glycemic index of a food is the measure of how it affects glucose levels. If a food has a low rating, it is absorbed slowly into the blood stream, keeping insulin levels stable. The higher the rating, the more quickly the sugar goes into the bloodstream, signaling for the pancreas to release insulin to restabilize the blood sugar, or glucose, level.

Effects on weight
If you are looking to lose weight, understanding this is key. Insulin signals the body to store fat. So when you eat high sugar foods the body is being signaled to store fat! Additionally, high insulin levels raise triglyceride levels, which are responsible for high cholesterol. There is actually much evidence to support excessive consumption of sugar as responsible for high cholesterol, NOT red meat, butter, and eggs. See if you can wrap your head around this quote from the website Healing Daily,

"Because refined dietary sugars lack minerals and vitamins, they must draw upon the body's micro-nutrient stores in order to be metabolized into the system. When these storehouses are depleted, metabolization of cholesterol and fatty acid is impeded, contributing to higher blood serum triglycerides, cholesterol, promoting obesity due to higher fatty acid storage around organs and in sub-cutaneous tissue folds."

Disease and Sugar
Short response: Sugar suppresses the immune system and leads to and causes diseases.

Longer response: Our white blood cells need a high concentration of vitamin C in them in order to fight off bacteria, fungi, toxins and intruders. The molecular make-up of vitamin C and glucose are very similar. Glucose competes with vitamin C for space inside each cell, so if there is an abundance of glucose, there is a proportionately lesser amount of vitamin C. When you eat sugar and spike your insulin level, you're squeezing out the place of vitamin C. Your immune system is essentially shutting down. This can last for up to 6 hours. Go back to the top of this page if you haven't already, and read the well researched list of ways sugar is ruining our health. Snickers bar, anyone? I don't think so.

What does this mean for me?
Well, I think it depends on who you are and how you feel. Eating a piece of fruit with a larger meal will affect you differently than having a fruit roll-up or piece of cake for breakfast. I'm encouraging everyone to cut their ties to the sweet stuff for at least a week. It is up to you to decide the degree to which you take this. If you are trying to lose weight, you may want to nix fruit and honey for awhile. If not, you may want to eat a tablespoon of honey with your tea, or enjoy a banana with breakfast. Either way, I encourage you to consciously think about your relationship with sugar. What is it really contributing to your health?

Hidden sugars

yogurt
salad dressing
ketchup
more to come!

And please, don't go for the fake stuff. It's even worse than the real thing.

Coming up next week will be more entries on sugar substitutes, honey, fruit, and a few more surprises!

Week 1 Menu

I'm still working on the food shopping list with brand recommendations and some rationale as to why you're consuming so much meat and butter.

If this menu looks a daunting, don't worry. We use some of the same base ingredients to make the preparing process easier; plus, none of them take longer than 30 minutes to prepare. And we're into improvising, right? Change the order of the meals, only cook half of them, but double the recipes, whatever works. Remember, we're implementing small changes, gradually. So this week, focus on cutting out sugar and do your best with the rest. One of the most important additions to your weekly food routine should be stocks! Check out the post below on why stocks rock!

I'll be posting a tutorial on sugar soon, and a list of food/beverages you may want to scrap if you're going sugar-free, so check back frequently!

Day 1
Breakfast - Spinach Kiku
Lunch - Turkey bacon sandwich on sourdough
Dinner - Salmon, kale, and brown rice

Day 2
Breakfast - Spinach Kiku
Lunch - Oriental Meat Salad
Dinner - Mexican Soup

Day 3
Breakfast - Oatmeal
Lunch - Tuna salad or sandwich
Dinner - Spiced chicken, brown rice, and squash

Day 4
Breakfast - Oatmeal
Lunch - Turkey bacon sandwich on sourdough
Dinner - Mexican Soup


Day 5
Breakfast - Softboiled eggs, sourdough toast with butter, and bacon
Lunch - Oriental Meat Salad
Dinner - Leftovers or try another soup!

Day 6
Breakfast - Dutch Baby Pancakes
Lunch - Omlette
Dinner - Shepherd's Pie

Day 7
Breakfast - Dutch Baby Pancakes
Lunch - Leftovers
Dinner - Spaghetti and Meatballs with Yogurt Herb bread

Snacks
Hummus with veggies or crackers
Homemade popcorn, popped on stove in coconut oil
celery with all natural peanut butter and raisins
potato skins or sweet potato fries

Don't forget to read all of the recent posts! Make sure you sign up for demonstrations this Saturday if you're interested!!!

Preparing for Week One!

Are you overwhelmed with the blog posts yet? I'm trying to keep things simple and concise, and not overwhelm people. The most important thing I want to stress through this process is that it is an individual one. I love food, nutrition, and cooking, so naturally, it is enjoyable and easy for me to find time (and extra money!) to research, prepare, experiment, and encourage others. But sometimes the cleanliness of the bathtub suffers. That's life. It is my hope that your intention for this challenge should be to find out what works for you and your family. Maybe germinating wheat berries, drying them, and grinding them with a handmill is not your thing. That's OK. But maybe you like the idea of your ketchup free of HFCS (high fructose corn syrup--who knew?!), and want to make your own every few months. Take some risks, but start slow. As my sister likes to remind me, I wasn't always a nut-loving tree hugger. It took time to reach this status, to own all of these cumbersome kitchen appliances, and to be brave enough to chop up a fish head on the kitchen counter.

Who's In
It seems to me that we have three types of people participating, so I am going to try to differentiate by levels as much as possible.

Tier 1 - "I want some new recipes." Self-explanatory.

Tier 2 - "I want to feed my body and my family healthy foods and optimize our nutrition." This group is at a weight they are comfortable with, but want to maximize health and discover the best ways to prepare their eats--inexpensively and quickly. (Tall task, but I will try!)

Tier 3 - "I want to drop some weight." This group is looking to change eating habits and shed unwanted pounds, pains, and illnesses. If you are in this group, I can't stress enough the importance of trying to follow the menus as closely as possible, especially the first few weeks. I dropped 14 pounds in two weeks when I first eliminated processed food from my diet. But there's no sneaking Chinese food at lunch or biscotti for dinner (well, not often at least) if you expect to see results!

As of now, we've got about 25 people participating directly at various levels, and closer to 40 if you consider their family members that are also affected by the challenge.

Week One: Footloose and Sugar-free
Week one will begin with what I would consider a solid case for eliminating sugar from the diet. Now before anyone clicks the little red 'X' at the corner of the screen, I think there is a time and place for sugar. It's called December. Now, however, it's January. So if you're a Tier 2 or a Tier 3 (can anyone give these poor nameless groups a better tag than that??), get ready. I'll be posting more about why we are going to take the plunge and eliminate sugar from our diet, so put away those boxed cereals, snarf up those truffles [ahem: Mother] and get psyched!

Demonstrations
I'll be cooking on Saturday, and I'd like to invite anyone who is interested to stop by for some breakfast and snack demos and tastings. Please RSVP through a comment below, via facebook, or email me: meganmassaro@gmail.com.

What: Sugar-free Breakfasts and Snacks
When: Saturday, January 10 from 3 - 5pm
Where: 45 Mechanic St. #2 Newton
What you might see: Smoothies, Dutch Baby Pancakes, Spinach Kiku, Hummus, Potato Skins, and a few more surprises!
Cost: I'll get enough ingredients to send people home with portions, so please bring a few dollars to help off-set the costs.