With the start of a New Year, it’s a great time to set a goal. A goal that many can benefit from is consuming less sugars. You would be surprised at how much sugar you’re consuming, and you may not be aware of it.
You may wonder why you should limit sugar, especially if you’re working out hard. Regardless if you’re thin or fat, you can benefit by reducing sugar in your diet. It all has to do with metabolic health. Sugars will also age you a lot faster. Some experts also believe that cutting back on sugar is more important that quitting smoking or consuming less alcohol.
If you think you’re not eating much sugar, you’re probably consuming a lot more than you think. Added sugars come from packaged foods, breads, health foods, snacks, yogurts, breakfast cereals and they also are hidden in sauces. The average person eats about 17 teaspoons of added sugar a day – and that’s not counting sugars that occur naturally in fruits or diary products. This amount of sugar is double the daily limit for men, and triple the daily limit for women. And for children, your talking quadrupling the amount of sugars you should consume in a day.
There is a strong correlation between obesity and sugar; however, average weight people can suffer the same health problems. Sugar doubles the risk of heart disease even in people who are fit. Also, there are some studies that show increase risk for diabetes, cancer, stroke and even Alzheimer’s disease.
Also, too much sugar can damage your liver and cause fatty liver disease.
And if you drink alcohol, you’re further increasing your risk. Therefore, try a month of watching your sugar intentionally, and see how you respond. If you do it with discipline, it will be hard to return to where you are today.
Let me know if you have questions or need advice on how to cut back on sugars.
