Monday, April 5, 2010

Sugar for dummies...

Sugar! Why sugar is so bad for us is this, it is instantly dissolved in the blood which spikes your blood sugar levels. Your body then releases a hormone called insulin. Insulin is a fat storing hormone. Too much insulin in your blood stream causes your body to store energy as fat. Sugar is also addicting & hard to resists. It really helped me understand the roller coaster that is going on inside my body while I'm eating something sweet to help me not want it. It isn't about depriving yourself. It's about doing your body a favor and putting the sugar away!

Sugar isn't a good source of energy. Good sources of energy are dissolved slowly, keeping your blood sugar levels stable. When your levels get all out of whack it can make you moody, sad, irrational, etc. Keeping your levels stable is a great emotional blessing! Sugary foods are not satisfying & the leave you craving more! For some reason, your brain likes the stimulation it receives from eating something sweet. You choose a soda at lunch and your brain likes the stimulation so when the sugar in your blood stream is back to normal it will start a craving for more high sugar stimulation. The great news is that it takes a few days for sugar to get out of your system & then you won't crave it! When your system is clean you will crave good energy, healthy foods. It's so great!!

Your body treats white flour, white rice, white anything like sugar. It is dissolved immediately & you get that spike. That's why whole grains are so cool! Brown rice, whole grain bread, whole grains like oatmeal (or corn meal mush! ;) are awesome because it is the "whole grain" all the nutrients, fiber, etc in still included. Man takes these whole grains & takes everything out of the grain & then bleaches it white... that's how we get white bread, white rice, etc.
Whole grains are digested nice & slowly & provide lots of things your body really needs to run properly. When you buy bread it has to say 100% whole wheat or it's just like 1 teaspoon wheat & some food coloring. Play around. Usually, the cheap, cheap breads are nasty! It may take a little getting used to some new tastes. Usually, we don't like the 1st or 2nd exposure, but after that we're used to the texture/taste being different. Healthy food is actually delicious. Sometimes, our taste buds are so used to the high sugar in everything that it takes several trys to discover that it is new & delish!

That's today's lesson. Your homework, start thinking about sugar. If you have it pay attention to how you feel immediately afterward. Most people can tell a spike in their blood sugar & then a crash... low energy, tired feeling. Let me know what you think!

3 comments:

Maghann said...

Awesome post Caryn! I wish that every one realized that by taking sugar out their diets, you not only lose weight, but can fix a whole buttload of medical problems at the same time. I thought that I could give myself a treat from time to time, but having any kind of sugar anymore gives me a headache almost right away. To me it reinforces how bad sugar really is and the healthier you are, the easier it is to see.

Maghann said...

Sorry!! I meant Maddy!!

Caryn said...

Maghann, I TOTALLY get an instant headache, too! I get SO dang moody, too. You can ask Paul, my Paul that is! ;)