Since Christmas I've been busily researching the effects of sugar on our bodies. Although the no sugar diet has been touted as the latest celebrity weight loss fad, the science supporting a diet free of 'table sugar', specifically, fructose, is compelling. John Yudkin author of 'Pure, White and Deadly', Dr. Robert Lustig, author of 'Fat Chance' and David Gillespie author of 'Sweet Poison' have convinced me that this stuff is dangerous. Our delicate bodies cannot cope with fructose, your liver turns it straight into fatty acids. The hypothalamus, the part of your brain that tells you you're full, doesn't recognise the sweet stuff, so you can basically keep eating it until you explode, a la Mr Creosote.
Scarily, it has also been shown that there is a direct correlation between eating sugar (fructose, dextrose, maltodextrin, sucrose, dextrin, corn syrup and many others) and metabolic syndrome. It looks very much like sugar, not fat, is the cause of all our woes. Sugar is also terribly addictive so the theory goes you can't just have a bit every now and again. If you indulge, you're hooked. I'll be writing an article about this soon, if you're interested.
Is it sensible to completely quit sugar? Well, I've been trying hard to cut back on the processed goods that contain sugar, swapping to rye bread and snacking on the usual suspects, nuts, seeds, vegetables etc instead of Bounty bars. I've also stopped drinking fruit juice/smoothies and soft drinks of any kind as they're so high in sugar they literally send your blood sugar through the roof. I've lost a few pounds and it's stayed off.
How easy do I think is it to cut out all sugar from your diet? Not easy at all. Nearly everything processed has some kind of sugar in it, so you can't eat that. Obviously puddings are out of the question, as is chocolate, bananas, mango, bog standard bread, ketchup, baked beans etc, etc. You need to scrutinise every label and use your common sense when shopping. How close is the product to its natural state? I'm afraid chocolate muffins aren't grown on trees.
The truth. Have I avoided all sugar for the past 2 months? Have I heck. Last weekend I took my boys to Spinkles and ate an enormous cookie ice cream sundae and I had a massive cookie during the week after a bad night with the boys.
Moderation, I guess, is the key.
Scarily, it has also been shown that there is a direct correlation between eating sugar (fructose, dextrose, maltodextrin, sucrose, dextrin, corn syrup and many others) and metabolic syndrome. It looks very much like sugar, not fat, is the cause of all our woes. Sugar is also terribly addictive so the theory goes you can't just have a bit every now and again. If you indulge, you're hooked. I'll be writing an article about this soon, if you're interested.
Is it sensible to completely quit sugar? Well, I've been trying hard to cut back on the processed goods that contain sugar, swapping to rye bread and snacking on the usual suspects, nuts, seeds, vegetables etc instead of Bounty bars. I've also stopped drinking fruit juice/smoothies and soft drinks of any kind as they're so high in sugar they literally send your blood sugar through the roof. I've lost a few pounds and it's stayed off.
How easy do I think is it to cut out all sugar from your diet? Not easy at all. Nearly everything processed has some kind of sugar in it, so you can't eat that. Obviously puddings are out of the question, as is chocolate, bananas, mango, bog standard bread, ketchup, baked beans etc, etc. You need to scrutinise every label and use your common sense when shopping. How close is the product to its natural state? I'm afraid chocolate muffins aren't grown on trees.
The truth. Have I avoided all sugar for the past 2 months? Have I heck. Last weekend I took my boys to Spinkles and ate an enormous cookie ice cream sundae and I had a massive cookie during the week after a bad night with the boys.
Moderation, I guess, is the key.
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