Sugar again!

Standing at Au Bon Pain in Laguardia airport last weekend, returning home from the 7th of my 10 weeks of classes at Integrative Nutrition in New York City, I was feeling a bit hungry. As always, I was taking the evening flight home and being close to dinnertime, I stopped at a stand close to my gate. As I perused the menu items, I made the best possible choice from the available delicacies - a tuna salad. Yum! I then had the option of adding salad dressing to it, so I chose balsamic vinaigrette. Now regardless of the enticing flavor on the front of the package, being a health counselor, I of course flipped it over and read the ingredient list. And low and behold, what’s the first ingredient? Sugar! How strange…why not balsamic vinegar? That’s what the name inferred so certainly that would be the main ingredient, right? Think again.

I’ve drawn the conclusion that many people simply don’t care about the quality of their food and what's in it. Others may be aware but choose to overlook it. In my case, I put the dressing back and let the food dress itself. But it certainly left me to ponder - if more people were better educated about the harmful effects refined sugar has on their bodies, would it make a difference in their choices? If they truly understood how it spikes their blood sugar, leaves them lethargic, angry, depressed, and irritable, and causes premature aging, amongst a host of other undesirable side effects, and they clearly made the connection that what they’re eating effects them on so many levels, would they do the same and make a better choice? I did, because I do understand. I hardly did before but now it’s what I preach. What's worse is that not only did the salad dressing contain mostly sugar, but there were a whole mess of other ingredients too, most of which I couldn’t even pronounce. Blah. Personally, I know sugar makes me crazy. I feel like things are out of control when I’m eating sugar. I get anxious, worried, annoyed, and depressed. I have irrational thoughts and feel hopeless. I never made that connection to food so deeply before but now it’s undeniable. Bottom line? It’s just not worth it! Who wants to feel that way anyway?

There are definitely alternatives to refined sugar that provide just as much sweetness in life and do not cause the same reaction. My favorites include:

• Agave - Agave nectar is a natural liquid sweetener made from the juice of the agave cactus. It is 1.4 times sweeter than refined sugar, but does not create a sugar rush, and is much less disturbing to the body’s blood sugar levels than white sugar.
• 
  Stevia – This leafy herb has been used for centuries by native South Americans. The extract from stevia is 100 to 300 times sweeter than white sugar. It can be used in cooking, baking and beverages, does not affect blood sugar levels and has zero calories. Stevia is available in a powder or liquid form, but be sure to get the green or brown liquids or powders, because the white and clear versions are highly refined.
• 
  Brown rice syrup – a delectable alternative that I use to make “healthy” brown rice krispie treats. This product consists of brown rice that has been ground and cooked, converting the starches to maltose. Brown rice syrup tastes like moderately sweet butterscotch and is quite delicious. In recipes, you may have to use up to 50% more brown rice syrup than sugar and reduce the amount of other liquids.
  

In my health counseling practice, I show clients how to make gradual shifts from their dependence on refined sugar to incorporating more natural sweeteners into their diet so they don’t feel like they’re giving anything up yet they’re still benefiting from the vitamins and minerals left intact in unrefined sweeteners. Your body doesn’t have to work as hard to absorb natural sweeteners like it does refined sugar because it doesn’t draw on its own storage of vitamins and minerals to process natural sweeteners that are stripped from their refined counterpart. Plus, they’re absorbed more slowly and evenly so you don’t crash shortly after ingesting them. The best part is they taste better.

I’m so thankful to have been introduced to natural sweeteners. They've enabled me to easily break free of my own sugar addiction, knowing I can always have something sweet when I'm craving it and not cause damage to my body or overall health in the process. Ahhh nirvana...because that's the real treat.