Refined Sugar - Get Out of My LIFE!

Hey, I'm back!  Been a while.  I was busy being a heretic. 

Did anyone else read that National Geographic article about sugar?  Pretty sobering stuff.  We sure do eat a lot of sugar.  Too much.  It's in absolutely everything.  I've done a little research on the subject of sugar - high fructose corn syrup, honey, agave, artificial sweeteners, non-sugar options, how they all affect the body, etc.  There is a lot of information out there on the subject but how much of it is true?

The Basics  There is no one kind of sugar.  When we think of "sugar" most of us imagine the pure white sweet powder we add to our coffee in the morning.  Allow me to introduce "sucrose", a disaccharide.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  It gets pretty messy, and I don't want to bore you with the details, but...

Carbohydrates!  "Carbs" are organic compounds comprised of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, typically with a hydrogen:oxygen atom ratio of 2 to 1. They are often referred to as "saccharides" and are divided into four groups: monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides and polysaccharides.  Yay!

Generally speaking, the mono- and disaccharides are what we know as "sugar" and end in the suffix "-ose".  You know, glucose, sucrose, lactose, fructose, galactose.  Fun fact - lactose is actually derived from galactose and glucose AND monosaccharide units join together using glycosidic bonds to make polysaccharides.   Blah dee blah dee blah.  Still with me?  No?  It's okay.  I'm not a fan of chemistry.  But it is important to understand what sugar is made of.

Interestingly there isn't much difference between high fructose corn syrup and honey.  Chemically speaking, they have similar ratios of glucose to fructose.  And both foods perform similarly inside you.  While honey is a much more natural source of sugar, too much fructose could induce toxic effects on the liver, lead to coronary heart disease, and make us fat (more on that in a bit).  I also found a lot of sources spewing that lowering your intake of refined sugars can lower your risk of certain types of cancer but after reading these articles (JHU Gazette and Mount Sinai Hospital), it seems to be very overblown and I can't find much truth to the rumors.

So, in light of all the seemingly accurate information out there, I've decided to go cold turkey and stop eating refined sugar.  Just for a week.  See how I do.  I'm talking white and brown sugars, honey, molasses (does anyone still eat molasses?), maple syrup, and agave nectar. 

Why?  I'm a generally healthy lady.  But eating refined anything and too much of it to boot isn't smart. Obviously it is impossible to eliminate all sugar from your diet - and silly.  We actually need sugar to live long, healthy lives. Starches and carbohydrates such as wheat, oats, beans, etc. are broken down in your body and end up as simple sugars (remember those monosaccharides?).  But it takes a lot longer. Our bodies need glucose to perform some very important functions, but eating evaporated cane juice straight from the bag isn't a good idea. The simple stuff is roughly half glucose and half fructose.  Our bodies don't use fructose and it is processed directly by our livers and turned into fat.  Big deal.  BUT too much fructose means too much fat in the liver which means liver disease (here's a clarifying article) among other ailments that could arise over time.

So, yes, cutting back on the simple stuff.   Here's what I'm eating instead -

Day One  Breakfast.  A tough one.  I want my organic cinnamon crunch cereal, but it has 8 grams of sugar per 3/4 cup serving.  Skip!  Instead I opt for the complex carbs and straight-up fat - two slices of organic sprouted wheat toast with butter!  I pour my coffee for the road and typically I'd stir in copious amounts of cream and sugar.  But not this morning. I add unsweetened hemp milk and pure vanilla extract.  Sure it's lumpy, but it tastes okay.

Five hours later, after wandering around the desert in search of bird-life, I'm home.  And starving.  I make bean and cheese burritos smothered in salsa and a small dollop of sour cream.  As usual I want something sweet to top off my meal.  I know there's Ben & Jerry's in the freezer.  It calls to me!!  Buuuuut I ignore it.  I opt for an orange instead. A little fruit each day is good, so long as you don't live off of it.  Remember, moderation in all things is the key to a healthy lifestyle.

I should also mention that I live a pretty active lifestyle. I hike, I run, I cycle.  My body is using up a lot of energy and burning a lot of calories.  I don't want this no refined sugar thing to be about weight loss, but about striking a healthy balance. 

How About You? If you want to make a change then why not give this a try?  Let's see how we feel at the end of the week, yeah?  Feel free to comment and let me know how you're doing, what you're feeling, tips, advice, whatever!  I'll do my part and let you know what I'm eating (including recipes), how it's tasting, whether or not I'm going crazy, and if this is actually a lifestyle change worth making.

Coming up next:  baking sans refined sugar and wheat.