Are You Still Worrying About SUGAR? Here’s The Truth –
Poor old sugar. It must wonder what it’s done wrong. There it was, hanging about in tons of the foods we eat, whilst “fat” took all the blame for obesity and poor health.
Then one day: bam. It’s all over the news. SUGAR IS TERRIBLE.
Sugar is making us fat, wrecking our health, and making our kids sick!
But if it is in fruit, honey, dairy products… can it really be that bad? And is it possible to cut it out entirely?
Here’s the truth as I see it.
Sugar is just one of the foods we eat. One of millions of different foods, ingredients, compounds. In fact, “sugar” is anything on a food label which ends in —ose (“lactose” – the sugar in dairy products, including milk. “Fructose” – the stuff found in fruits and fruit juices).
Is an apple bad for you? I don’t think so.
In very basic terms, sugar is highly concentrated energy (calories). Like any carbohydrate, it carries 4 calories per gram of carbohydrate.
The trouble with sugar is that it often comes without much fibre – so it’s a very “fast” source of energy. And it’s very easy to eat a lot of it. So we often take in a huge hit of sugar-calories in one go, with no useful stuff like fibre.
The sugar itself isn’t the problem. Its how easy it can ADD to your calorie intake without much benefit.
If eating for health, energy, and a better body is your goal, here’s what I suggest:
Don’t worry about the forms found from fruit and berries (fructose) they’re sweet but they have lots of useful stuff, like fibre, or dairy products (lactose) as they come along with a whole heap of other benefits such as vitamins and minerals.
Reduce the less-useful types of sugar (but don’t think you have to cut them out completely): table sugar, cubes, sachets, added “sugar” in fancy coffees, honey and jam, and things like cereal and granola with “honey” in the title.
There are a whole heap of calorie free sweeteners nowadays that taste exactly the same that would serve you well.
Limit your sugary treats: there’s no need to cut out chocolate or your favourite sweet treat. But just be aware of how much “energy” (calories) are in those things. It’s mostly from the sugar content (although fat can bump up the calories too).
Don’t cut sugary treats out. Take a look at you diet. What do you typically eat? Are those “fast” sugar sources – the ones with no fibre and vitamins – popping up time and time again throughout your day? How could you cut back on them? What would/could you replace them with?
Fat loss is about eating less energy (calories) than you need. That’s what will chip away at body fat. As long as you hit this calorie deficit, you can enjoy sweet treats and sugary stuff. But it carries a big calorie load (and won’t make you feel very full). So just add it in wisely.
Think of it like a financial budget. You only have so much money to spend every day. And some of your habits are more expensive than others. So cut down how often you buy them, or buy smaller versions of them.
Make sense? Let me know if you’re still confused about it all – or if you disagree with me here!