Well, if you ask me at the end of a long work day on Friday, I'd say Friend! However, by Saturday morning I'll be lamenting that sugar binge. Throughout Lent, I gave up the processed type of sugar, the kind you find in jelly beans and candy bars. I wasn't able to give up the sugar in homemade treats, but I figure that it's less processed and organic, so I feel less guilty about it. With the arrival of Easter, I was able to enjoy the pure delight in opening a bag of Starburst Jelly Beans, reserved only for the spring. My husband went through our eggs, eating the candy out of them one by one. Ah, sweet joy!
Oh, sweet, short-lived joy....within minutes I began to feel sick and utterly nauseous. I hadn't even eaten that many jelly beans. And really, they didn't taste as good as I remembered. My body was screaming at me, STOP! While my head kept telling me push through it, they will start to taste better and that gross feeling will go away. Well, I stopped because I began to feel like I'd gained 10lbs just after that mini binge.
Over the next few days, as the Easter candy has been slowly diminishing, I noticed that it took eating more and more to get to that same gross feeling as I felt on that Easter Day. Hmmmm...Another interesting tid-bit is that my interest in eating fruit, really yummy sweet fruit totally diminished. I eat an apple every day and love mango and strawberries with my breakfast. But during the days since eating the processed sugar again, my taste buds weren't satisfied by the natural sugar. All I craved was the processed crap. Here again is proof to me that sugar is addictive and that sugar (HFCS or not), can change what you crave. Additionally, I believe that the more you eat this type of food, the more you want it. Processed food is chemically designed this way.
Fructose is the number one source of calories in American diets. It's cheap and makes food taste extra sweet, so it's therefore in nearly every processed product you can find. (A side note: now that many people are starting to avoid high fructose corn syrup, many companies are beginning to use palm oil, which is NOT a healthier alternative, and may be just as awful as HFCS). Many will say "Everything in moderation," but this may not be the way to go with sugar. The use of fructose as an additive to foods corresponds directly with the increase in diabetes and obesity in this country, but I'll let you draw your own conclusions.
Sugar may in fact be linked to even cancer. I remember way back when I started seeing my naturopath and I learned about how sugar can create an environment in your cells that promotes abnormal cell growth (which is why changing your diet is so crucial if you are diagnosed with cancer). The cells of human cancers, according to Dr. Taubes (who I LOVE), rely on insulin to survive and grow, which is produced when you eat an excess of sugar (and although I dislike white bread products, a calorie of sugar from them is glucose, which our bodies metabolize differently than fructose). There is reason to believe then, that pre-cancerous cells may never become cancerous if there is no insulin present for them to feed on. And as if you needed another reason to get rid of the soda, when our bodies metabolize the fructose in liquids, the result is compounded. Another reason to forgo the sugar. (I also found out reading about this that Vitamin water has a TON of sugar!)
Sadly, fructose is found in some fresh fruits. However, you can keep your fructose levels low by only eating fresh fruits and forgoing the processed foods.
A few placed to be careful about finding sugar: ketchup, salad dressings, and even mustard. There are so many more, but the mustard surprised me! We've now switched to a mustard that is not made with sugar or any sweeteners (and my husband has no clue) :)
I also want to make a note about sweeteners. These are just as bad for you as sugar. They also can alter your taste buds because they are sweeter than sugar. Eventually you end up needing more and more to meet your fix, and as I mentioned before, you'll begin to appreciate naturally sweet foods less. (I also think the same argument goes for when people complain they don't like the taste of water--stop eating soda and sweetened drinks and pretty soon you're taste buds will get back to normal and water should start tasting good again). They are also incredibly toxic to our bodies. It has been linked to cancer and premature birth. If you have more questions (or don't believe me) please read this two articles which spell out the research on this issue. http://aspartame.mercola.com/; http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/09/15/aspartame-side-effects.aspx
Another thing that just astounded me, is that infant formula can be up to 50% sugar (from corn syrup solids, gross!) This is just APPALLING to me! How can we be giving this crap to our babies! No wonder obesity is on the rise...we are altering our babies taste buds from the get-go! Make sure you read your labels and try to find one that is low sugar (and if you do, let me know so I can pass on the word).
I could go on and on and on, but I won't. Your time is precious and I need to get a few more things done before the little guy gets up. All three articles below are worth a read, but they are long. Take the challenge: give up the sugar. We are trying it in our house. We're not going cold turkey, but we're really trying to reduce how much we eat. Join us :)
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/05/02/is-sugar-toxic.aspx
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?_r=1
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/01/26/sugar-may-be-bad-but-this-sweetener-is-far-more-deadly-part-2.aspx
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