So since I am off the sugar wagon I am just passing on some info that I have found that might be a tad interesting to someone thinking about avoiding sugar! For me I never ate desserts, like never until I got pregnant with my first Bryten. I started to notice that because I could no longer have my wine fix, I was craving sugar. I went from never eating desserts to someone who would eat them for every meal if I could. And once I delivered my daughter and was able to have an occasional glass of wine, I was over desserts once again untiiiiilllll I got pregnant with number 2 ;)~ I bought a copy of a vegan sugar free cookbook recommended to me by a friend at the time and that is what started my fun sugar free baking. This book is such a useful tool for mommies out there that are interested in not using sugar in the treats for your children. Remembering that what we give them while they are young is what they will crave in adulthood. My daughter Bryten is 4 with no cavities, and she would eat a handful of strawberries before a cookie and I love that. Although, when she does eat a cookie it tends to be sugar free if it is made by me. ;) I myself feel so much better when I have not had sugar in my system for a long time. So between being healthy and wanting to finally shed all these lbs from procreating I am a strict sugar free gal again! One day when I have a healthier relationship with sugar I will be able to splurge on my birthday, and valentines day, and um well when I really must ;)~
The helpful book:
http://www.amazon.com/BabyCakes-Gluten-Free-Sugar-Free-Recipes-Talked-About/dp/0307408833/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1348449959&sr=8-2&keywords=babycakes
Some facts and opinions:
Over the last 20 years, the average yearly sugar consumption per person in the United States has gone from 26 pounds to 135 pounds. Just before the start of the 20th century, the average consumption was only 5 pounds per person per year. Now we are seeing more and more sugar side effects in our society.
To put this into perspective, a typical bag of sugar sold in your grocery store is 5 pounds. In 1890 that one bag would have lasted a person one year. Today, that 5 pound bag only lasts for about 2 weeks.
We do not have to consume white, refined sugar to be consuming sugar. Sugar includes glucose, fructose (as in fruit sugar), lactose (as in milk), sucrose (as in table sugar), maltose or malts (as in rice malt and honey), jam (contains concentrated juice, which is high in fruit sugar), maple syrup, corn syrup, palm sugar (traditionally used in macrobiotic cooking), and the very deceiving organic brown sugar, which is not all that different from white sugar. Even alcohol is a sugar. All of these sugars are problematic in many different ways.
Nancy Appleton, PhD,
clinical nutritionist, has compiled a list of 146 reasons on 'how sugar is
ruining your health' in her book Lick the Sugar Habit. Here are some of them:
* Sugar can decrease
growth hormone (the key to staying youthful and lean)
* Sugar feeds cancer
* Sugar increases
cholesterol
* Sugar can weaken
eyesight
* Sugar can cause
drowsiness and decreased activity in children
* Sugar can interfere
with the absorption of protein
* Sugar causes food
allergies
* Sugar contributes to
diabetes
and the list goes on
obviously, but I suggest grabbing a copy of her book from your local
library! Pretty intense!!!
Book Link:
According to Dr. Fredric
Brandt, dermatologist and author of 10 Minutes 10 Years: “As AGEs accumulate,
they damage adjacent proteins in a domino-like fashion.”
Most vulnerable to this
type of damage are the collagen and elastin protein fibers that keep your skin
firm and elastic. Collagen is the most prevalent protein in your body. Once
damaged, the normally springy and resilient collagen and elastin fibers become
dry and brittle. This leads to wrinkles and sagging skin. According to a
study published in the British Journal of Dermatology, this aging effect starts
to show itself in the mid 30s and then increases rapidly after that.
Refined sugar depresses
the immune system by decreasing the ability of the white blood cells to fight
infection. Refined Sugar also causes depression by interfering with hormone
levels and mood receptors in the brain. Sugar creates artificial highs in
energy which result in a rapid decline soon after, this effect leaves the body
feeling an almost constant state of fatigue.
Sugar
in Children:
The effect of sugar
intake on children's behavior is a hotly debated topic in pediatrics. Parents and educators
often contend that sugar and other carbohydrate ingestion can dramatically
impact children's behavior, particularly their activity
levels. Physicians, on the other hand, have looked at controlled studies of
sugar intake and have not found hypoglycemia or other blood sugar abnormalities
in the children who are consuming large amounts of sugar. Seriously then
what about the fact that it is commonly acknowledged that as blood glucose
levels fall, there is a compensatory release of adrenaline. When the blood
glucose level falls below normal, the resulting situation is called hypoglycemia.
Signs and symptoms that accompany this include shakiness, sweating, and altered
thinking and behavior. To me that says that some children might actually
be allergic to sugar. Ever think that the children that we are branding
as ADHD or ADD might be having a allergic reaction to all the carbohydrates and
sugar they eat!!! I noticed while teaching that the children whose
parents would pack whole foods had way less behavioral problems then the ones
that had teddy grahams and those pink and white circus cookies!!! I am just
saying!!!
Soooo one can see why
cutting sugar out of your diet can prove to be a very helpful step!
I
feel that once you have got the sugar out of your system craving it happens a
lot less BUT just in case you need something sweeter there are several
different substitutes for sugar, these are a few of my favorites:
Agave
nectar
The nectar made from the plant is known in Mexico as aguamiel,
or "honey water."
The Aztecs prized the agave as a gift from the gods and used the liquid from its core to flavor foods and drinks. Now, due to increasing awareness of agave nectar's many beneficial properties, it is becoming the preferred sweetener of health conscious consumers, doctors, and natural foods cooks alike. I use this on my granola, for baking, in my tea and coffee. A little goes a long way!
The Aztecs prized the agave as a gift from the gods and used the liquid from its core to flavor foods and drinks. Now, due to increasing awareness of agave nectar's many beneficial properties, it is becoming the preferred sweetener of health conscious consumers, doctors, and natural foods cooks alike. I use this on my granola, for baking, in my tea and coffee. A little goes a long way!
Coconut
Sugar
coconut sugar - an amazing sugar substitute! If you are looking
for a sugar substitute and you are not so inclined to use artificial
sweeteners, then coconut sugar might be a good fit for you. It is completely natural
and a lot healthier compared to regular cane sugar and other natural
sweeteners. Coconut sugar has been around for generations and has been used as
a traditional sweetener primarily in South East Asia. Coconut trees thrive in
tropical climates and coconut tree is abundant in that region. Due to the
coconut sugar's low glycemic index classification, it has garnered quite a bit
of attention in the western world particularly in the health conscious and
diabetic community. I use this like regular sugar!!! For baking, on
my oatmeal.... You can generally find in the bulk section of
natural food stores if not here is a great link
Brown
Rice Syrup
Brown rice syrup is a vegan and gluten-free
liquid sugar substitute that can be used in baking and cooking to sweeten foods
with less calories and to avoid the use of refined sugar. Vegans may prefer
brown rice syrup to refined sugar, which is sometimes refined using bone char
from animals. With a sticky, gooey consistency similar to honey, brown rice
syrup tastes very sweet, but has a flavor much different from other sweeteners,
such as honey and agave nectar. I use this for baking where ever sugar is
called for! "To substitute sugar, use 1 1/4 cup rice syrup for
one cup sugar, using 1/4 cup less of another liquid in the recipe.
Stevia
Stevia is a plant that is
native to South America. It is probably best known as a source of natural
sweeteners. In fact, native people in South America have used stevia as a
sweetener for hundreds of years. But the leaves are also used to make
medicine. My husband's Aunt Denise who is one of those ladies you hope to
be like when you are older ;) told me that using the dried leaves v.s.
the store bought powder is better because the leaves have more nutrients.
I actually went to my local natural food store and did it. I grounded it
with a coffee grinder and added it to my tea and it worked well. The best
thing to do in my book is grow your own. Here is a link for Stevia plants
http://www.stevia-plant.com/.
Grow it, dry it out and store in air tight container and use for up to 6
months!
In foods, stevia is used
as a non-caloric sweetener and flavor enhancer. Stevia was originally available
as a "dietary supplement" in the U.S. It wasn’t allowed as a “food
additive” until 2008. That’s when the federal Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) granted Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status to rebaudioside A, one
of the chemicals in stevia that makes it sweet. Stevia is also available as a
sweetener in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Russia, Israel, Mexico,
Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela, Columbia, Brazil, and Argentina. For me I
literally use this once in a great while, at my local co-op I can get it in the
spice section and I will occasionally use it for my tea, or to sprinkle on my
oatmeal. If you are someone who takes sugar in your hot morning beverages
such as tea of coffee this is an option. I am an in-moderation kinda gal
and I feel that in moderation this sweetener is less harmful then
sugar!!!!
A few
blogs I am digging as well as websites and books to aid in finding sugar
free ideas:
http://www.sugarlessshop.com/sunshop/
Books:
I hope that these
suggestions are useful this will be an updated post, and my hope is that all
Americans get on the sugar-free wagon. Don't reward children, or
yourself, with sugar for a job well done.... ;) Go sugar
free! Or at least only indulge on occasion!! If you have any
comments or suggestions, or just some awesome sugar free info please send me a
message. This will be an updated post, when I find more sugar free
goodness.. Tread lightly!!!
Thanks for information. I have been wanting/trying to cut out my sugar intake lately. This was exactly what I needed to read!
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