Maneuvering The Sugar Consumption Confusion

Sugar is sugar is sugar. So it is but is there any difference in the type of sugar that you and your family ingest? Honestly, not really. Your body actually digests all sugar in the same way but the problem is that there is a lot of sugar that is incorporated into all the foods we eat which puts a tremendous strain on the system as a whole.

Of course, some say that the more natural sugars such as fructose are easier to digest and this may be true since fruit in general is good for your body but almost every other sugar is highly processed and therefore would fall into a similar category as cane sugar or corn sugar or syrup. Ultimately, sugar is sugar and your body must use insulin to break down sugar.

The American diet has witnessed a huge increase in sugar that is found in our daily diet. Comfort treats such as ice cream and chocolate cake seem to be contributing to the increase of diabetes and hypoglycemia that is appearing at a younger age. Are we really conscious of the sugar content and the damage that these sugars are doing to our personal health and the health of our overall nation?

It is pretty common knowledge that jellies, jams and cremes have a high sugar content, but did you know peanut butter and most breads are sugar loaded as well. These little known or advertised facts about the kid foods we provide our children in reality provide them with a weeks worth of sugar. These foods are considered non sweet food items by the advertisers and fall into the same category as crackers, breads and etc. so we really don't make the sugar connection unless we educate ourselves to what we are really eating.

Not knowing, reading or understanding the maze of food labels and what they really mean will not allow you to make better food choices for yourself or your family. Ingredients such as fructose, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, dextrose, maltose, glucose, galactose will be misleading and potentially dangerous unless you train yourself to be in the know. Be very suspicious of words that end in "ose". There is no better time to change your knowledge than beginning today. Knowing how much sugar is in the foods you buy will add up to future healthy years to enjoy because you will be cutting back on your sugar intake and seeing overall improvement in your total health. Start the new journey by reducing your sugar consumption.