Type 2 Diabetic's Biggest Problem is SUGAR

I recently read a short article in Reader's Digest concerning sugar. The article starts out by imagining a life size sculpture of yourself made out of sugar cubes and consuming it over and over the next 365 days. It goes on to point out that is essentially what many of us are doing. The typical American eats an average of 128 pounds of added sugars each year. Those figures come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Here are some things to consider:

People who got between 10 and 25% of their daily caloric intake from added sugar are 3X more likely to die of heart problems that those who get less than 10% of their calories from sugar. It also mentioned that sugar harms your overall health even if you are NOT overweight and eat reasonably.

Other studies have shown there is a link between sugar consumption and higher levels of triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, and LOWER levels of HDL cholesterol. Too much sugar intake is also associated with inflammatory chemicals which increase heart risk.

In addition, sugar messes with your brain and your body trying to tell you that you are full and to stop eating. Sugar hinders fat burning enzymes and leads to fat storage.

Something I didn't know............Sugar can be addictive and make it difficult for you to stop eating it. In a test ran on rats given free reign to eat sugar, their brains became flooded with dopamine, which is the same substance released during gambling episodes and cocaine use.

WHO (World Health Organization) recommends consuming less than 5% of your daily calories from sugar. One 8 ounce glass of sweetened tea as an example is your total daily limit. The average American consumes over 22 teaspoons of added sugar daily.

THE REAL PROBLEM comes in when you do not read labels while grocery shopping. Sugar is lurking everywhere. Read your breakfast cereal label, your bottle of salad dressing, your favorite cup of yogurt etc. The other problem is that even if you are reading labels and looking for the word sugar, you are still being deceived. Also look for hidden sugar with labeling such as fruit juice concentrate, or maltodextrin or rice syrup.

SUGAR ADDICTION HIDDEN SIGNS:

• You promise yourself only ONE cookie and realize the bad is empty before you know it
• You skip dessert, however more than make up for it by second helpings of pasta and bread
• You do okay at meal time and end up later snacking on potato chips and crackers
• You end up skipping some meals rather than eating smaller ones, and then over eat later
• You find yourself tired all the time
• You just want a taste of bagels, muffins, crackers, pasta, rice and bread and then go back for more
• You snack on high caloric, high sugar content foods through out the day
• You eat healthy while with other people and then lose it at home alone

TIP: Limit yourself to 24 grams of added sugar per day. Read labels and see how many grams of sugar are in just ONE packet or Quaker pre-packaged oatmeal. I checked and the average is 12 grams so if you eat two packets for breakfast, you are done for the day. 

Think you are cutting back by having yogurt for lunch? Yogurt can have over 24 grams of sugar in one serving which exceeds your daily limit to be healthy.

STAY HYDRATED on water, and NOT so called vitamin drinks or high energy drinks etc. Most of these type of drinks have 25% of the Min RDA for certain vitamins in the whole bottle and the sugar content is a lot more than you would think.

TRY TO THINK in terms of vegetables, low sugar fruits, chicken, (pistachios, walnuts, pecans, etc. for snack time.)

Start walking and work yourself up to 30-45 mins of brisk walking 5X weekly along with incorporating some light training with dumbbells, push ups against the stairs, abdominal crunches, stretching etc. Do it with a partner if you can and it will be more enjoyable.

God Bless,

Dan