So we all know that sugar is bad for us, but how bad is it really?
Hey, there.
Lacey here with A Sweet Pea Chef, and today we're going to talk about sugar.
So we know that we get that sugar rush when we eat a lot of sugar, and we'll talk in a
little bit about why that's a really big issue for our bodies.
But research has actually shown that sugar is highly associated with Type 2 diabetes,
osteoporosis, obesity, cancer, depression, Alzheimer's, and many other illnesses.
But let's get one thing straight.
Sugar is actually by itself not the biggest issue.
In this video today, I want to show you how to start looking at sugar differently.
I want to talk about how sugar, like carbs and calories, have been really demonized,
and it's actually not entirely deserving.
Real sugar, the kind that exists in natural foods, like whole fruits and vegetables, is
something that actually provides a nutritional and functional need in our body, and that's
to provide us energy, and energy is good.
What's not good is that over time we, as humans, have really developed this really, really
sweet tooth that wants things sweeter and sweeter to make our taste buds happy.
So manufacturers have started producing things with more sugar in them.
In order to do that they actually have overproduced real sugars into highly processed sugars that
we know today, like high fructose corn syrup, granulated sugar, and brown sugar.
So those types of sugars are highly refined, and they're no longer coming from a whole
food, like a fruit, a vegetable, or a bean.
You don't get that time to slowly digest the foods like you would with naturally occurring
sugars.
Instead, you get it just a straight shot of that pure energy into your body, and over
time that can cause a lot of stress on your organs.
So the real issue here isn't about sugar by itself.
It's about processed sugar and how bad that is for our bodies.
So how do we go about quitting processed sugar?
Well, let me share with you the seven steps I took to quit processed sugar and how you
can too.
Step number one, read your nutrition labels.
This is probably the most important thing you can do in order to take control of everything
you're putting into your body.
You're going to want to pay attention to the nutrition labels on everything you buy that's
prepackaged at the grocery store.
So your sodas, your cereals, your energy bars, everything that has a nutrition label, you
want to pay attention to it because it's going to tell you exactly what you're putting into
your body.
Look out for the obvious sugar ingredients, like high fructose corn syrup, sugar, brown
sugar, and ones that you know are sugar.
But there's a lot of hidden sugars you might not know about yet, and those include malt
sugar, organic cane syrup, dehydrated cane syrup, dextrose, maltose, and many other words
that end in "ose."
Those will all indicate that there's high amounts of sugar in your food.
Step number two, beware of artificial sweeteners.
No, they don't contain any calories, but they also contain absolutely no nutritional value.
Instead, they trick your body and your taste buds into thinking that you're getting something
sweet.
But you're not getting the energy along with that sweetness.
Your body gets confused and wants more and more things to be sweeter and sweeter.
Over time, you basically develop this sweet tooth even if you're not having actual sugar.
For all you Stevia lovers out there, unfortunately Stevia falls into that same basket of artificial
sweeteners.
Yes, the Stevia plant is a naturally occurring sweet and calorie-free plant.
But to get it from that state into the grocery store as a powdered sugar for you to add into
your drink with no calories, it has to be highly processed.
That's not to mention that having that sweetener is always going to keep you wanting more and
more sweet things, which is going to lead you to having more and more issues with quitting
sugar.
Step number three, choose healthier, more real sources of sugar.
Like I mentioned earlier, sugar exists in real foods.
It exists in beans and vegetables and fruits.
There's even sugar in celery and broccoli.
The idea is you want to have all of your sugar coming from those types of foods, instead
of the artificial or added sugar.
But if you do have to add in some added sweetener into your foods, there are several healthier
alternatives that are more naturally occurring than what we might be using today.
Those are coconut palm sugar, pure maple syrup, and raw honey.
All three of those actually provide you with some nutrients as well.
So one real quick caveat about adding sweeteners to your food, if you happen to be a diabetic,
this is the only time I recommend using artificial sweeteners.
With any sweeteners, make sure that you're using as little as possible.
Step number four, identify the main culprit.
We all probably have one food or drink that is the main culprit behind our continued dependency
on sugar, and it's the one thing you don't want to give up whenever you consider giving
up sugar.
Maybe you're a sweet coffee drinker, like I was, or you love Dr. Pepper, or that Snickers
bar at 2:30 in the afternoon to get you through the rest of the day at work.
Whatever it is, identify it and start looking at it as the sugar that it is that's hurting
your body and keeping you from reaching your health-related goals, not the sweet treat
that you think it is.
Step number five, begin to eliminate all processed sugar from your home.
This is going to be a step where you have to dig deep.
You've got to look into the pantry and your fridge, and you've got to pay attention to
those nutrition labels.
Look for the things that have sugar in them and start to remove them from your home.
This is going to be tricky.
There's going to be ketchup and barbecue sauce, and cereals that you're going to have to get
rid of.
But if you don't have it, you won't eat it.
Step number six, make it a transition.
Change can be very scary and difficult, especially if you consider all of the years you've probably
been addicted to processed sugar.
So start small.
Take baby steps.
Start moving towards that goal of eliminating all processed sugar from your diet.
Are you going to do it in one day?
Probably not.
So you want to take some steps to getting towards that goal, removing the foods from
your house, paying attention to those nutrition labels.
Every single step you take is going to take you one step closer to removing processed
sugar and quitting sugar for good.
Step number seven, just start.
One of the biggest worries I hear from people who are trying to quit sugar is that they're
scared of all the things they'll lose.
They're afraid they're never going to get a cookie again or drink a soda, or have anything
sweet, or ice cream, for the rest of their lives, and that idea terrifies them.
But instead of thinking about all of the things you're going to lose by quitting sugar, instead
let's reframe it and think about all of the things that you'll gain.
You'll start to gain an appreciation for how amazingly sweet natural foods are, like bananas
and carrots and apples.
You'll start to actually taste more foods for what they are, rather than having your
taste buds completely skewed because of sugar.
You'll gain a pride and a confidence in yourself and your body, that you're doing this because
you're worth it and you're no longer willing to put all of that junk into your body.
You'll learn new and exciting ways of still enjoying sweets, but using whole, real foods
and naturally occurring sugars, like making ice cream out of frozen bananas, or using
applesauce to sweeten your baked goods.
Plus, you'll have significantly reduced your risk for obesity, diabetes, cancer, and heart
disease.
Most importantly, you will have finally quit sugar.
Just like with any positive change, your mind and your body will probably try to trick you
into wanting to go back to that old way of living.
Just keep moving forward, keep taking those baby steps, and instead of thinking that you
have this battle with your food, instead start enjoying your new healthy lifestyle.
To get more information on how to finally quit sugar, click the link to get my free
download on how to quit sugar.
Make sure you subscribe so you never miss my new weekly videos.
Thanks.
We'll see you next time.