Today I was reading a blog called Sugarless Diet. I found it the other day and was surprised to find someone else who had cut sugar out of their diet. Floriana has lost a TON of weight! She has done so good and is an inspiration. She is a little bit lucky because after getting sugar out of her diet she hasn't really had alot of cravings or desires for sugar and her weight has come off. Of course, she has worked hard at exercise and she makes really good food choices. For me, I don't think things are going to be so easy. For some reason my body seems to want to be fat. I have decided I am not going to weigh again for at least 2 weeks because today the scale said 204 and that was really depressing. I am going to be faithful with eating well, exercising, and cutting out sugar for one month so that I can tell my doctor what I did and if I don't lose he can try to figure out what is going on with my body.
Anyway, back to the subject...SUGAR. On Floriana's blog I found a link to a most interesting video of a seminar given by an endocrinologist about the effects of sugar on our bodies. You must go watch it. It is LONG though. SO make sure you've got some time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
I have known that sugar isn't good for you my whole life. My parents raised us on an almost no sugar diet because they are scientists and they knew that sugar was bad. But, as time went by sugar sneaked into our lives. I sometimes think my weight problems are somewhat related to the lack of sugar in my diet as a kid because I always wanted sugar so badly that when I ever did get it I went crazy. And once I was old enough to drive and go get my own food I ate alot of crap and sugar. Of course, I didn't get THIS fat until after having 5 babies! But I definitely have never had a good relationship with sugar.
Having said that, I want to say that I do know that the lack of sugar in my diet as a kid kept my sisters and I all quite healthy. I don't really remember going to the doctor as a young child. I don't remember being sick very much. We also had healthy teeth. Of course, I was the first one to get a cavity out of my 6 sisters and myself. I think I was about 10 or 12.
Anyway, that video explained exactly what sugar does to your body. It makes you fat not just because of the excess calories. I am determined to not only get most of the sugar out of my life but to reduce the amount of sugar in my kids lives as well. Once my husband watches the video I am going to discuss with him how we can get some of the sugar out of our kids diets. Luckily, we are not big soda or juice drinkers. I don't let my kids have either of those too often. But my teenaged son (16) buys himself tons of soda and I think he drinks it at school too. He is going to be a tough one to crack. I am going to try to get him to watch the video, too.
The one thing that confused my on the video was how he kept saying Fructose was the problem. I think maybe he was saying that becaus sucrose (table sugar) is made up of fructose and glucose and glucose is not bad so the fructose is the bad part. Toward the end he said that fructose in fruit is ok because the fruit has so much fiber and the fiber negates the effects of the sugar. But obviously sucrose is what we all eat and it is the problem. I am unclear if using crystallized fructose in recipes is better or worse than sucrose.
Anyway, I think it was helpful to see that video to solidify my resolution to get sugar out of my diet. I am going to be searching for foods that are not made with added sugar (or contain very little) because with 5 kids you really can't make EVERYTHING from scratch! I will be making a list on the sidebar.
Hi Melaina! I am glad you found the video useful. It's very sobering, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteDon't lose heart. It takes time for the body to notice the changes and for the weight to start coming off. Be patient and it will pay off.
Yes, fructose is the problem, not glucose, at least not according to Dr Lustig. Table sugar is approximately half fructose half glucose, as are honey and high fructose corn syrup. It's not just sucrose. Glucose and fructose are metabolized differently and it's the fructose that causes trouble. Glucose rich foods that are low in fructose, like whole grains and potatoes are fine by Dr Lustig.
In a interview I listened just the other day Dr Lustig explained that fiber slows down the absorption of fructose and gives the liver enough time to process it. The fiber needs to naturally come from that fruit though, not be artificially added.
Unless you are binging on it, I don't think fruit is really a concern. It's the processed foods and added sweeteners that are doing the damage.
Crystallized fructose is definitely bad. Agave nectar is also mostly fructose, so stay away from it, too. The more fructose and the more refined it is, the worse.
Hope that helped clear things up for you a bit. :)