This Simple Carb Is A Major Health Hazard (But We Still Consume It In Excess Every Day)

One food we all eat every day constitutes a major health risk.
Unfortunately, it's built into most processed foods.

It is responsible for the following:

• Losing appetite control (so that we overeat).
• Creating an environment for major disease.
• Putting on unwanted pounds, especially around the waist.
• Feeding cancer cells.

Obesity is the result of consuming food laced with this ingredient and not because people overeat and don't exercise.

Yet we keep eating and drinking it in large quantities. 

Why? It tastes good. We are used to it. We need it like a drug addict needs heroin or a smoker craves nicotine. It's a bad habit that's difficult to break.

This is a problem created a hundred years ago when food manufactures discovered that this ingredient sells food. Consumers eat processed food. They lose control of their appetite and don't realize they are overeating. 

What popular commercial boasts that ":You can't eat just one?" When's the last time you mindlessly munched through a box of cookies or crackers or a oversized bowl of ice cream.

We eat 19 times the daily amount of sugar that our ancestors consumed. 

How Do We Break This Bad Eating Habit?
First, many people need an incentive to change their eating habits. It may not be enough to say that sugar is a major health hazard (smokers still smoke even though they are committing suicide with each cigarette they light up). Listing all the problems that will likely show up at a future date will not incent some people.

If we supply a substitute every time we identify a trigger for sugar eating, that's a good start. That means we have to plan to make sugar substitutes (or foods with lower sugar content) easily available.

Sugar addiction will not disappear on its own. Gradual sugar reduction may be the answer to turn appetite control back on. Essentially, you wean yourself off sugar. We cannot be so strict that we bypass the occasional treat (especially if it's been prepared with less sugar than usual).

An example might help.
If you drink coffee or tea or lemonade with sugar, start cutting down the amount of sugar you use. I used to drink coffee with sugar. After a few weeks of eliminating sugar gradually, I got used to sugarless coffee. And a caution - do not substitute artificial sweeteners. Healthwise, that's even worse than using the real thing.

The First Step 
Keep a food diary. 

Jot down every food and drink you consume (except for water), the amount you eat, and its sugar content. This is easy for processed foods because the amounts are spelled out on package contents. It's somewhat trickier for meals that include several ingredients. You will guesstimate the sugar content. You can look up the sugar content of most individual items online.

The benefit of a food diary is that you will be aware of your daily sugar consumption. You will be surprised at the amount you do it and will start looking for substitutes. You will automatically cut back on sugar.

Double Your Weight Loss

Click HERE to view a video entitled Double Your Weight Loss with a Food Journal.

In the video, Barbara Ficarra, RN, explains how keeping a food journal can make a huge difference and help you reach your goals.