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Health foods can be surprisingly high in sugar

By Look Good Naked ~ Posted Sat, 05/12/2012 - 2:57pm
According to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 32 million more Americans will become obese by 2030, increasing obesity rates to 42% of the U.S. population. 

Sugar is a leading contributing to the climbing rate of obesity. It’s hard to avoid sugar, even in seemingly healthy foods. In fact, the following so-called health foods have more sugar than a candy bar.

  • Yogurt: Yogurt naturally has about 12 grams of sugar per six ounces, but many people choose artificially sweetened brands. An eight-ounce container of vanilla can have 31 grams of sugar, and a six-ounce container of flavored yogurt can have 32 grams. Greek yogurt, though, has less sugar.
  • Tomato sauce: A cup of tomato sauce can have more than 20 grams of sugar, not to mention the sugars in the pasta that you eat it with.
  • Granola bars: Sugar is often one of the top ingredients in granola bars. Depending on the brand and size of the bar, a serving may have anywhere from 11 to 22 grams of sugar.
  • Fat-free salad dressing: When manufacturers remove fat from the salad dressing, they often add sugar as a replacement.
  • Muffins: Bran muffins are often considered healthier foods when compared to obvious offenders like donuts. In reality, muffins have become so super-sized that they easily pack more than 30 grams of sugar. 
  • Canned fruit: Fruit is high in natural sugars, but canned fruit are often packed in sugar-laden syrup. Even in light syrup, a one-cup serving of canned peaches can have 32 grams of sugar. 
  • Smoothies: Sugar is naturally found in yogurt, milk and fruit, but commercially prepared smoothies often contained added sugars. Jamba Juice smoothies can contain about 38 grams of sugar, depending on the ingredients and the size. 
  • Cereal: More than 40 popular cereals contain more than 11 grams of sugar per serving – that’s more than three Chips Ahoy! cookies. 

Learn more here.

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Addicted to sugar

By Look Good Naked ~ Posted Sun, 03/18/2012 - 4:00pm

Sugar is in practically everything we eat – from indulgences like pop, candy and cookies to processed foods like pretzels and Worcestershire sauce.  The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that the average American consumes 12 teaspoons of sugar a day.

We eat so much sugar because it triggers production of our brain’s natural opioids, a key ingredient in the addiction process.  Researchers have speculated that the sweet receptors, which evolved in ancestral times when the diet was low in sugar, have not adapted to the seemingly unlimited access to sugar in the modern diet.  Therefore, the abnormally high stimulation of these receptors by our sugar-rich diets generates excessive reward signals in our brain, which can override normal self-control mechanisms, leading to addiction.
Americans’ addiction to sugar is a huge problem.  Sugar is a primary contributing factor causing obesity, diabetes, and other chronic and lethal diseases, such as cancer.  Try to kick your sugar cravings by exercising, which dramatically reduces insulin levels and food cravings.  Also, to minimize your sugar intake, avoid processed foods, which contain added sugar.  For optimal health, eat natural whole foods and limit your fructose consumption to less than 25 grams per day.
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