Sugar – are you eating too much?
Whenever I ask clients what they crave, no one tells me that they crave chicken or tuna, they always crave something sweet, like chocolate or cake. Now maybe you are someone who craves salty, like chips, but underneath that layer of salt, is carbohydrate from the potato, which turns into sugar in our body, so in the end, it is still “sweet”.
As humans, we have a natural affinity for sugar. Babies are born having a liking for all things sweet.
Back in primitive times, when we hunted for food, sugar (usually as honey) was a highly prized commodity. A sweet taste also tipped man off to safe and edible foods whereas bitter tasting foods often signaled dangerous or poisonous substances.
Fast forward to 2014…
…And the majority of us are no longer picking berries of trees, and so we no longer really use sugar as means to determine if a food is poisonous if we eat it or not.
How much sugar are we eating everyday?
Statistics Canada says we are eating up to 26 teaspoons of sugar per day.
Would you add that much to your cup of tea or coffee? Doubt it.
So what should you do?
Start paying closer attention to labels. Look at the amount of sugar listed in the nutrition panel on a label, but also look at the total carbohydrate, especially if you have diabetes, as all types of carbohydrate can affect blood glucose levels.
Keep in mind that the term “sugar” on a label also includes natural sugars in healthy foods, such as fruit and milk, which provide nutrients and antioxidants that are beneficial for health. So to limit “added sugars”, chose wholesome, natural foods most often and stay away from processed foods as much as possible.
So what do you think? Do you think you might be eating too much sugar?
