When it comes to nutrition, there are several routines out there that work. Wellbeing is a personal journey, and everyone has a unique route. Sugar is one of the few ingredients in any routine that plays such a significant role in helping or hindering the body. Our cells thrive off natural sugars found in vegetables, but the added sugar can create a number of issues in the body and the brain. It can be helpful to start with a simple chart of the good vs. bad.
Beneficial Sugar
Vegetables
Sweet Potatoes
Squash
Fruits (in moderation)
Dark chocolate
Detrimental Sugar
Most packaged goods, simple carbohydrates, sodas, fruit juices and baked goods contain over 30 grams of sugar per serving. In addition to limiting these items, look out for the hidden sugars on the ingredient list. All of the below is processed as bad sugar in the body- raising insulin levels causing rapid weight gain, brain fog and chronic inflammation.
Brown sugar
Corn sweetener
Corn syrup
Rice syrup
Dextrose
Maltose
Barley malt
Fructose sweetener
Fruit juice concentrates
Glucose
High-fructose corn syrup
Honey
Lactose
Maltose
Malt syrup
Maple syrup
Molasses
Sucrose
A simple practice to start to lower sugar in the diet- count how many processed foods you eat in an average day. This is considered anything in a package outside of it’s whole food form. For example, nuts come in a package but are still in the whole food form. Think of packaged foods as manufactured foods that don’t come from the earth naturally.
Create a daily goal. Perhaps start with 10 packaged foods a day and work to limit to 5. Or maybe even less if you can. This can be an easy way to become aware of how much sugar we are eating without having to count every gram.