Saturday, March 13, 2010

Sugar

This is definitely the hardest thing to give up for me. But how can I learn these things and not consider it. Not only does it feed the bad bacteria in our guts as I posted earlier but it's causing major health issues such as diabetes and many others.

According to "The Makers Diet" one in every three Americans are at risk for diabetes? One in every two for Hispanic children. The average Americans diet is one-fourth sugar. That's like eating nothing but sugar every forth meal. Sugar is in everything. That's 170 lbs of sugar a year. That is just gross! But, most of us are doing it! And if that is "Average" then I was eating even more than that!!! I couldn't live without dessert. It was my treat to myself after a long day with the kids. What a treat huh? The bad bacteria in my gut was having a party right along with me. But, the more I don't eat it the easier it is to resist. I think my body was physically addicted. America is so much into indulging themselves with their sugar that when The World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization released results of a study on how the amount of sugar in our food was causing an epidemic of obesity and diabetes, the media shot them down. There are studies to prove that the things in our food our bad for our health but the food industry cares more about production and cost then our health. It's up to me to do the research and provide nourishing meals for my family.


(I have a little girl that likes to hide in the bottom of the pantry cabinet next to the sugar tub and dip her fingers in it. And if you know my Hannah, that's the last thing she needs. The tub is gone now...)


This is all new to me and I don't want to sound like I know it all but I have read recently that there are two types of sugar. Disaccharides (table sugar; milk sugar). These are found in grains, potatoes, corn, and non cultured dairy products. These sugars are hard to digest. The second type is monosaccharides (single sugars) found in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, fermented or sprouted grains, and dairy products. These are supposed to be easier to digest. Properly soaking, sprouting, or fermenting whole-grain products is supposed to turn these disaccharides into monosaccharides so we can more easily digest them. Okay, I can't even pronounce these words but I'm accepting it as gold because my little girl who cannot eat dairy or gluten without major stomach issues can have homemade bread made with properly soaked wheat and keifer made from goat milk. Now she is receiving pure nutrients from these things and nothing else added or taken away. They are the way God created them to be.

3 comments:

Marcee said...

Great post Season! I just checked out "The Makers Diet" from our Library! Great book. Another great book on this subject is "The Schwarzbein Principle" and also "Death by Supermarket".

I just made "Chocolate Keifer bread". I used yogurt and soaked w/w four, reduced the sugar by 1/2 and replaced with stevia. It was VERY GOOD! Next time, I'll try still a little less sugar.

Notorious M.E.G. said...

I worry a lot about sugar in our family. My father is diabetic & my mother drinks only soda. I recently cut soda out of my diet and have seen wonderful effects. It is insane, though, the amount of fructose in everything. I would be interested in seeing some posts in the future on recipes you are using with your family to cut out as much sugar as possible.

Aly sun said...

I would also be interested in trying some recipes your family enjoys. I went without sugar for 9 months and it completely changed my life. I was doing it because of my pregnancy and rid myself of my usual 9 months of morning sickness and yeast infections, typical of my other pregnancies. Plus, my psoriasis (skin rash that is thought to feed on sugars in the blood) disappeared. Unfortunately, I was unable to convince my family of the benefits. We are back to eating sugar, but reduced abounts I think.