The NO sugar fad

Yes... I have spoken many times about the dangers of sugar in the diet, and they are true.  Sugar causes obesity and a whole host of other problems such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cancer, to name but a few.  There is a huge anti sugar movement going on with the United Nations warning that sugar is the "new tobacco" and lots of people are radically cutting all forms of sugar from their diets.

I would like to stress that the no sugar focus should be on REFINED SUGAR and ADDED SUGAR.  Naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables and whole grain cereals are a necessity for the body.  After all the brain needs glucose to function properly and the body needs a certain amount for energy.

The problem with sugar is that over the past couple of decades it has been silently added to so many products you'd probably be very surprised.  Mass produced foods such as bread, bacon, hot dogs, potato chips, salad dressings, juices, etc all have added sugar, even low fat processed foods have added sugar as sugar does not CONTAIN fat.  When fat is removed from a food to make it low or no fat a lot of taste is also removed so the manufacturers add sugar and salt to make it more palatable.  Sugar also extends the shelf life of lots of processed foods.  And then of course there are the sweets, chocolate, biscuits, desserts, etc., which we all know are packed full of sugar.

This is the sugar you need to eliminate from your diet.  I challenge you to go to your kitchen and check the foods you have stored there and see just how many contain sugar.  You should also remember when reading an ingredient list on a food package that the ingredients are listed in order of quantity starting with the most and continuing down the list as the amount decreases.  So, if sugar is listed as one of the top 3 ingredients this means there's a lot of sugar in it.

Mother nature has a way of supplying all our bodily needs.  As I have said many times before eating natural whole foods such as fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, etc., and healthy fats such as olive oil, coconut oil, nuts and even organic butter are what the body needs.  We are omnivores (don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking vegetarians or vegans) and should have a diet that is as varied as possible.  Our diets should be primarily plant based with just a little animal protein - we really don't need as much animal protein as we are accustomed to eating.  In fact, if you read The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, PhD and Thomas M. Campbell II, MD you will discover that we only need our diet to contain 5% protein from animal sources.  Now plant protein, that's a different matter!

As I have often said before, our digestive systems have not changed in 10,000 years yet our eating habits have changed beyond recognition.  10,000 years ago our ancestors the hunter-gatherers ate what they could gather - fruit, vegetables, nuts mostly, and every now and again they would be able to catch an animal for meat.  They would then pretty much have to gorge on meat for a day or two as there was no way of preserving it, before returning to their diet of fruits, vegetables and nuts.

I don't believe in exclusion diets unless there is a medical issue.  I would never recommend a gluten free diet to a person unless, of course, the were diagnosed with Celiac Disease or had been tested positive for intolerances to gluten.  I, therefore, do not recommend a completely sugar free diet... just make sure that your sugar intake is in the form of fruit, vegetables, nuts and whole grains.

Nothing refined or processed should ever form a part of a healthy diet.

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com