I’ve written down some posts to do over the next couple of weeks on the blog, so you will see many more posts about sugar, why it is so bad, and how much sugar is in the food that we eat. I’m really looking forward to writing them, because I have been learning so much in this project.
So today, why is sugar so bad?
Firstly, just so everyone knows, sugar is made up of two molecules, glucose and fructose.
Well, lets talk about the liver. Our bodies are amazing, I am kind of a nerd when it comes to biology and understanding the amazing ways that our bodies function. When we eat and drink our livers make a hormone called leptin, and leptin tells our brain when we are full so that we can stop eating. That is amazing, our liver works together with our brain to tell us when we are full so that we can stay healthy. But too much fructose interferes with that hormone, for many people, that hormone simply gets switched off, and we end up eating huge portions of food, which as we can all agree, leads to weight gain.
After doing the sugar fast for a week, I can tell you that I have experienced this. I haven’t eaten potatoes, bread, pasta, any puddings, or any dairy. My meals consist of vegetables, salad, eggs and meat. I was very worried about being hungry and I haven’t been at all. I feel full quicker and then I don’t feel hungry afterwards.
I have grown up always feeling hungry. I would eat a huge meal and then feel hungry an hour later. When I have been dieting I have a rumbling tummy and feel hungry for such a large portion of time that I generally hate dieting. But this is one of the first times that I haven’t spent my days hungry. I’m amazed.
Sugar is addictive.
Seriously, I’ve never noticed how much sugar I want, but just thinking about it fills my mouth with saliva! I have never considered myself to have a sweet tooth, but I really do crave sugar.
It is everywhere!
If you remove bags of sugar from your house and don’t ever touch it again, the chances are you will still be eating a vast amount of sugar.
Look in your cupboards, here are some things that contain a vast amount of sugar:
- All cereals, especially those made for children.
- Granola, muesli and granola bars
- Ketchup, mayonnaise, BBQ sauce.
- Pasta sauces
- Curry sauces and pastes
- Baked Beans
- Coleslaw
- Alcohol – dare I say it!
- Fruit juice and smoothies – even naturally occurring sugars are bad in large amounts, and fruit juice and smoothies have huge amounts of sugar, sometimes more that fizzy drinks!
- Nutella, peanut butter, jams and marmalade
- Dried fruit and raisins – these packets contain far more sugar that simply eating a piece of fruit.
It is the hidden sugars that really get us. Even if we take out the bags of sugar in our house, we are consuming huge amounts of sugar every day. I know because of just how much I am not allowed to eat. Sugar is in everything!
So there you have it. Why is sugar so bad? Because it is addictive, causes us to gain weight and we really can’t avoid it. There are more reasons, and for those of you who are thinking about limiting your sugar intake, type “why is sugar bad for you” into Google, and you will come up with so many more reasons that just these three. It is quite a motivator!
This week, I’ll talk about how much sugar health professionals think we should eat and then I want to show you just how much sugar is in some of the common foods we eat. I think you will be surprised just how much sugar is in our food.
My update – yesterday I was super tired and headachy all day. Today the headache started at the beginning of the day and is continuing. Can’t wait for this to be over. I really do want to make some long-term changes though. After the 21 days, I’ll be sharing some of the ways that our family will be cutting out sugar in ways that are sustainable and realistic.