Sugar

  • Energy/ Environmental/ Health/ Sugar

    Regain HEALTH and VITALITY this year…

    Vitality and energy

    Would you love to regain your health and vitality this year, to have more energy to enjoy life?

    Most people feel they need a fresh start to a New Year and although for many it is to start yet another diet or join a gym it is hard to motivate yourself if you have low energy to start with.

    January in the Northern hemisphere is cold and damp with little sunshine and short days and so we often feel more like hibernating with a good supply of chocolate and even in warmer climes it can be difficult to go back to work after a good holiday. It is not a time to deprive yourself – so any New Year Resolutions that involved depriving yourself of things you enjoy are likely to have failed already!

    A new trend  is to pick a word (or words)for the year that motivates you on many levels. Find your own word that resonates and inspires you so that when you feel lacking in energy you can use your word to bring you back on track. I tend to procrastinate way too much so my word for the year is ‘FOCUS’.

    I love this trend because it is much more encompassing and less restrictive than making a Resolution like ‘I want to lose weight’ or ‘I want to get fit’. If you want to regain your health and vitality you need to work on many levels over time and build on the improvements so that they become part of your life and you mindset. Think of embracing changes over the whole year and look at all the aspects that impact on your health and energy.

    If you are not sure where to start, write down all of the key words on the tablet in the picture above and then go through them circling the ones that you feel you most need to work on. Don’t worry if you end up circling them all – it just shows how this can help and how every aspect of self-care is important!

    An optional extra is then to write yourself a note saying-

    ‘To improve my HEALTH and VITALITY I  need the right MINDSET and my word to remind and motivate me during the year is …………’  then stick it on your computer, bathroom mirror or fridge where you will see it daily.

    Many things can rob us of energy, Read More →

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  • Blood sugar management/ Cancer Prevention/ Health/ Healthy Food/ Mineral Depletion/ Sizzling Minerals/ Sugar/ Sugar Detox

    Need HELP with SUGAR?

    Need HELP with SUGAR?

    The health dangers of sugar have been in the news a lot lately with governments even considering taxing sugary drinks, as they have in Mexico, to try and improve the health of the population – especially children. So if you need help with sugar avoidance and dealing with a ‘sweet tooth’ here are a few pointers.

    Hidden Sugars

    Aside from not adding sugar to your tea and coffee and avoiding sugar laden desserts, cakes and cookies you should start checking labels so that you can find how much hidden sugar is in your diet. If you have children then checking sugar intake is vital to their health as well as protecting their teeth. A third of children leave primary school already obese!

    1 teaspoon of sugar = 4 g

    Daily recommended maximum intake is 50 g (1.7 oz) for Women and 70 g (2.5 oz) for Men but 28 g = 1 oz (7 teaspoonfuls) would be better. Many people average nearer 130 g a day which is equal to 32 teaspoonfuls!

    First of all sugar is disguised by so many different names, anything that ends in ‘ose’, fructose, sucrose, maltose, dextrose, then cane sugar, cane crystals, corn syrup, fruit concentrates, honey, Maple syrup and Agave.

    High Fructose Corn Syrup seems to add more fat around the middle and around vital organs (visceral fat) -the most dangerous kind.

    Soft drinks are the worst for hidden sugar, even ‘enhanced’ water can have 15 g per 500 ml. Pre-packaged food – even savoury foods like Pasta Sauce and coleslaw can be loaded with sugar; bread, biscuits, energy bars, low fat yogurt often has more sugar than regular yogurt.Need help with Sugar

    Processed Cane or Beet sugar doesn’t contain any nutrients and is often called ’empty calories’  but other sugar types are also devoid of nutrients and even heavily processed using chemicals. When I want to sweeten something I would usually choose a little honey, Pure Maple Syrup or molasses sugar because these do also contain some nutrient benefit and are not over processed.

    Artificial Sweeteners

    It is not a healthy option to swap your sugar for artificial sweeteners as they have many additional problems.

    • they may taste sweet but they have no useful energy
    • they have no appetite suppression effect, unlike sugar and so can cause overeating and weight gain.
    • Many sweeteners may be toxic to the body
    • if you really feel you need them -do your research. At present Stevia seems to be the least toxic but definitely avoid Aspartame which has been linked to mental problems, brain tumour and epilepsy, Parkinson’s Disease, Fibromyalgia and diabetes plus possibly cancer. Avoid Sucralose which is sucrose that has been denatured using Chlorine.

    How to Cut Down on Sugar

    If you have become aware of just how much sugar you are eating and have started reading food and drink labels that is a huge step in the right direction. We can all be caught out – my son is hooked on mince pies at the moment and 1 mince pie has 22.5 g sugar which is nearly 6 tsps of sugar and only 1 tsp off his healthy daily limit. So my tips are:- Read More →

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