Day 313 in a Year of my Life

Election night.  Pfft.

As you know, I have cut refined processed sugar from my diet.

My obsessive thirst for information regarding sugar has led me to many and varied web sites.  Naturopaths, Wellbeing and Health groups, University Studies, Medical Facts, Scientific studies but these are the things that play on my mind the most, and help make the decision to cut sugar much easier.

Natural sugars are rich in vitamins, nutrients and phytonutrients and are actually good for you.  Raw honey, pure maple syrup and palm sugar are examples of natural sugars.

Refined sugar has been stripped of all it's positive health benefits.  It goes through a bleaching process using 'lime' and 'carbon dioxide' and then further purified and whitened by filtering through a beef bone char.  This process removes even more minerals.

Brown and raw sugar that you buy at the supermarket is simply white sugar stained with molasses.

Other names for sugar that you might find on food labels are

• Cane sugar
• Corn sweetener
• Corn syrup
• Dextrin
• Dextrose
• High fructose corn syrup
• Maltodextrin
• Malt syrup
• Maltose
• Saccharose
• Treacle
• Xylose

and there are actually a lot more names, but these are the most common.

The top side effects of sugar intake are

• Digestive problems
• Diabetes
• Heart Disease
• Cancer
• High Blood Pressure
• Low immunity
• Poor memory
• Tooth decay
• Depression
• Headaches

There are actually more than 90 side effects.

Common foods high in sugar content

• Sugar
• Soft drinks
• Dried fruit
• Flavoured yoghurt
• Cereal
• Fruit juice
• Spaghetti
• Salad dressings
• Frozen dinners
• Baked beans

It seems that the world of science and medicine has made a mistake.  They've been telling us for years to 'cut' the fat out of our diet if we want to lose weight, when in actual fact, fats (even saturated fats) CANNOT add fat to your body unless you combine it with sugar.

Sugar, on the other hand, even without combining it with fats, WILL add fat to your body.

Also, a new study at the Mayo Clinic shows that people over 70 with a diet high in sugar and carbohydrates have an almost 4 times higher risk of developing cognitive impairments like Alzheimers, Dementia and Depression.

Sugar creates an acidic environment in your body which lowers your immune system considerably and that's what makes it perfect to develop the side effects mentioned earlier.

Oh I could go on and on - but I don't want to bore you any more than I already have.

I'm pretty sure that Adoring Husband has skimmed over all of this information, as he drinks his chocolate milk, eats his chocolate peanut clusters and chocolate ice creams, and is probably rolling his eyes and thinking 'here she goes again'.

I started this change on 20th August and I've already noticed changes in my body.  Aside from the weight loss (3.5kgs so far), which was inevitable, my digestion has settled down remarkably.

In my own bed, I sleep more soundly (but not at the Chicklet family house it seems).

I don't feel hungry.  Eating real food, instead of processed food, is more satisfying for longer.

Even more surprisingly, I don't crave sugar!  My sugar input prior to this, was getting out of control, with ice cream, chocolates, lollies, cakes/desserts, cookies and soft drinks.

The other day, I bought a very large slab of my favourite passionfruit fudge, which I divided in half and shared between Vegan Chickie and BGWLBH.  I didn't eat ANY of it and it didn't even bother me!

I feel good.

Tomorrow I'll share the fritter recipe from yesterday's post (as requested by two of you).

Tonight, I'll share two family photos ...

Today, I'm grateful for weekends relaxing at home and doing whatever my little heart desires.

Nite all.