Sugar is EVERYWHERE

With everyone staying home and social distancing, it's even more important than ever to stick to a healthy diet and that includes your sugar consumption. We all know that too much sugar isn't good for our health or our waist lines, but it's also not good for our immune system. If you want to keep your immune system healthy, which we all do during this COVID-19 pandemic, then you really want to cut out sugar from your diet. 

And here's why:

Eating or drinking too much sugar curbs immune system cells that attack bacteria. This effect lasts for at least a few hours after downing a couple of sugary drinks. Eat more fruits and vegetables, which are rich in nutrients like vitamins C and E, plus beta-carotene and zinc.

Americans are eating and drinking too much added sugars which can lead to health problems such as weight gain and obesity, type 2 diabetes, inflammation and heart disease to name a few. Sugar also raises your insulin levels. Insulin encourages the storage of fat, elevates triglyceride levels and promotes cardiovascular disease, asthma, mood swings, diabetes, gallstones, hypertension and arthritis. 

In fact, it’s possible you’re meeting — or exceeding — your daily sugar intake target with just one meal, snack or beverage a day. Check out this infographic from DailyBurn to see how it happens:



As you can see from the infographic, sugars are found in so many foods we eat on a daily basis and many are unnecessarily added. We all know that sugar can cause health problems, however our eating culture revolves around sugary, salty, fatty, unhealthy foods. Even those without a raging sweet tooth will find that it’s almost impossible to avoid eating refined sugar these days, as grocery manufacturers routinely add it to everything from bread and pizza dough to spaghetti sauce and salad dressing.

• Added sugars are sugars and syrups that are added to foods or beverages when they are processed or prepared. Naturally occurring sugars such as those in fruit or milk are not added sugars.
• Added sugars are called by many different names. Examples of added sugars seen on ingredient labels, according to the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans,² include brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, lactose, malt syrup, maltose, molasses, raw sugar, cane sugar and sucrose (any many more).

• The leading sources of added sugars in the U.S. diet are sugar-sweetened beverages, grain-based desserts like cakes and cookies, candy, and dairy desserts like ice cream. Reducing the amount of sugary drinks and sugary foods each day and replacing these with plain water and fruit might be a good way to reduce added sugars intake.

• Cut Back on Processed and Packaged Foods (we spoke about this in our week 7 Healthy Habits so you might already be ahead of the game). Salad dressings, spaghetti sauces, soups and even pizza crusts contain sugar. Read the labels and buy products with No Sugar Added OR best yet...make your own. 
• Cut Back Slowly Sugar is addicting (more addicting than Cocaine) Cut back on the amount of sugar added to things you eat or drink regularly like cereal, pancakes, coffee or tea. Try cutting the usual amount of sugar you add by half and wean down from there.
• Swap out the soda. Soda is basically "Liquid Candy". Buy naturally sugar-free or low-calorie beverages. Water & herbal tea is always the best choice!
• Eat fresh & frozen fruits. This is a healthy way to indulge your sweet tooth naturally. Choose organic fruits (which we talked about in our Week 10 Healthy Habit).
• Add fruit. Instead of adding sugar to cereal or oatmeal, try fresh fruit (bananas, cherries or strawberries).
• Cut the serving back. When baking cookies, brownies or cakes, cut the sugar called for in your recipe by one-third to one-half. Often you won’t notice the difference.
• Try extracts. Instead of adding sugar in recipes, use extracts like almond, vanilla, orange or lemon.
• Replace it completely. Enhance foods with spices instead of sugar. Try ginger, allspice, cinnamon or nutmeg.
• Substitute. Switch out sugar with unsweetened applesauce in recipes (use equal amounts).
• Switch to natural sweeteners like raw honey or maple syrup in place of processed sugars.
• Make Your Own Sweet Treats. Indulge in your sweet cravings every now and then with these yummy homemade recipes using natural sweeteners. 

What questions do you want answered this week regarding your sugar consumption? Reply to this email or post in our Facebook group.

I'll share some more healthy tips to help you cut back on your sugar consumption this week in our Facebook group!

This week's email is sponsored by the following.**This email contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Whether you are vegetarian or vegan, gluten-free or keto, catering to specific food preferences is easy with companies like PlateJoy. With menu planning tools and organized shopping lists, PlateJoy makes it simple to eat a balanced diet, cook delicious meals, and even have guests over for dinner.



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Carrie A Groff