3.25
Sugar is everywhere in our culture. On average, we've gone from consuming several pounds a year per person 200+ years ago, to over 100 pounds a year each, today. Huge consumer product groups like snacks and sodas and breakfast cereals are chocked full of sugar. Why? The refined sucrose and fructose in sugar is truly addicting, with similar effects on our brains as cocaine and other addictive drugs. Getting more raises the threshold of response and we need more to get the same 'benefit.'
And what do we get for this addiction? Not only obesity, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, but sugar also speeds aging, stresses our liver the same way alcohol does, and interrupts our natural immune responses. And sugar literally feeds the growth and replication of cancer cells. Uhg. Beyond that, sugar in our diet increases inflammation response in our metabolism, and new studies are showing a strong relationship between elevated fructose in our diet and the development of Alzheimer's disease.
Natural sugars are better than refined sugars, but both are still concentrated sucrose:
- Today's refined white sugar often comes from beet sugar
- Cane sugar comes from sugar cane and has been a growing staple of western culture for centuries
- High fructose corn syrup is highly-refined corn syrup, it is significantly cheaper than other sugar sweeteners, and it has even worse health impacts
- Natural sugars come from raw, unrefined or lightly-refined sources, like honey, maple syrup, and agave nectar.
- Natural sugars also come from fruit, and even those add to our overall sugar load
So what is the solution to the sugar addiction and the health trauma that results? Moderation. Do we need to eliminate sugar? No, not all of it - just reduce refined sugar intake and keep it under control. The American Heart Assn says no more than 100 calories from refined sugars per day for women, and no more than 150 calories per day for men.
Keeping sweeteners to natural forms like honey is best, or minimally-refined ones like maple syrup or agave nectar. The point with any sweeteners, though, is moderation. Without moderation in our sweeteners, we can develop a sugar addiction (remember, it eventually takes more and more sugar to get the same amount of satisfaction.) With moderation, we find simple enjoyment from the sweetness of fruit and the occasional sweet treat, and they're easy to walk away from.
Take a hard look at your sugar habits and sweet expectations. If you are overcome with an uncontrollable desire for sweets, start today to detox from sugar and give moderation a try.
By the Way
Fruit sugars are much healthier than any prepared sugars or refined sweeteners, but these are sugars just the same. The only redeeming quality of getting sugar from whole fruit is the fiber and carbohydrates from the fruit, which help our bodies metabolize and use the sucrose with less ill-effects.
3.24
I have a co-worker who is super-healthy and vegan. He understands the value of nutrient-dense foods and a plant-based diet, and we have frequent conversations about what's new (to us) in healthy choices and recipes.
The other day he sent me several articles about protein and how much misinformation is out there about needing lots of protein in our diet. The research was gathered and supported by Gatorade and focused a lot on how even committed athletes don't need nearly the amount of protein that conventional wisdom indicates.
This misinformation is systemic in our western culture, and it doesn't look like it will get better anytime soon. The truth is, a plant-based diet rich in veggies, fruits, healthy grains, nuts and seeds will far outpace a protein-rich diet focused on dairy and animal proteins.
I often say that if we lived on the plains of Kansas in the 1800's we'd be incredibly grateful for a cow and her milk, some chickens and their eggs, and maybe a couple of pigs if we were really blessed. At least with a small barn yard, we would have some calorie-dense meats that would nourish our family consistently. And some fresh grains and produce thrown in, and we might even prosper.
But we don't live in the 1800's, and we have so many options for healthy food buying and eating, we have no excuse to get this wrong. The bigger issue is changing the message. We still have an archaic centralized government message telling us that dairy is essential to our health (especially brainwashing our kids in public school) and supporting big meat industry messages and sales volumes to a willing public.
I get that there is nothing more savory than the smell and taste of grilled meat. Throw in some salt and garlic, and hey, how can something that tastes this good be bad for you?! In small, occasional amounts and meals? No problem. But at the exorbitant rate that western culture eats meat protein, we write our own prescription for disease and untimely demise.
If you aren't convinced, do your own research. Check out Dr. Joel Fuhrman and Dr. Dean Ornish, and web resources like MindBodyGreen. We live with food-abundance like never before, and with extensive information available, we have no excuse for living with food-related poor health. What we will hear and learn from government and conventional media is full of half-truths and lobbyist-fed industry pandering. The truth on healthful foods is not what we think.
By the Way
If you really want to update your perspective on plant-based eating and healthful choices, check out these valuable documentaries (available on Netflix, or at their websites):
Fork Over Knives
Food Matters
Hungry for Change
These are all exceptionally eye-opening. Here's to upgrading what we know about our food choices and making healthful choices.
3.23
Summer is almost over! Quick, what are all those fun things we wanted to do before Labor Day and school restarting?! We checked off one: our family just returned from an epic two-week+ vacation out West... it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to suspend the 'rules' and engage life in a completely different way for a while.
But a healthful lifestyle isn't conditional. After all, it's a lifestyle. I'm usually a "90/10" eater. 90% of my calories typically come from nutrient-dense, plant-based foods, and about 10% are some rare dairy or lean meats or something processed. On vacation though, it was probably more like 70/30. We enjoyed ribs in Wyoming and excellent smoky BBQ in Colorado, and also had trout, tremendous salmon dip, and several wonderful salads. Mmmm...
That's what vacation is all about. It's okay to change the rules for a while, as long as we know where our baseline is. Changing the rules is different than breaking the rules. And I've been a clean eater for so many years that I know I'll pay for straying from healthful choices. My body and metabolism react to poor food choices. But hey, I'm okay with that for a brief spell of summer.
Now that we're back in the swing of things I look forward to cleansing for a bit and then this fall, I'm planning on bringing more variety to my own healthful diet, and the overall food choices our family enjoys.
How about your summer? Hopefully it's been fun and relaxing and memorable. And if you feel like you fell off the wagon where your health and eating are concerned, it's simple enough to take a deep breath, contemplate your choices a bit, and get back to your wellness baseline.
By the Way
Part of my changing the rules was having ice cream twice on vacation (one was a fudge sundae) and it was fleetingly awesome. Because I wasn't running or working out, I didn't notice the dragging lethargy that usually hits me when I eat dairy. For healthy choices though, I also had a delicious dairy free treat at a frozen yogurt shop, and the organic plum sorbet at Moo's in Jackson Hole, WY. Tremendous!
