Are you eating too much sugar?

The first thing clients say when I ask them about their sugar intake is “I don’t eat a lot of sugar.”

However, in their own minds people tend to associate sugar intake as putting a couple of spoonfuls in tea or coffee.

There is sugar in most foodstuffs we eat. It’s not only in sweet things like chocolate, cakes biscuits etc… it’s in breads and crackers, sauce type products, low fat butter, and even milk. Yes, it’s a fact that low fat milk contains a high sugar content. Hence most of us consume far too much sugar in our diet.

A high sugar content automatically has an adverse effect on our health. It dehydrates the body and the outward physical signs results in dry parched skin, hair and not to mention brittle nails.

We also experience a lack of energy and turn to sugar for an energy kick however, all this does is set the body up for a bigger crash. Excess sugar requires our body to produce more insulin, which in turn causes the familiar dip in energy hence we reach for something sweet to bring us back up again forming a trickle effect of sugar dependency throughout the day.

Remember sugar is a drug and is as addictive as cocaine yet we fail to make this connection and the similar dependency patterns formed with other narcotics. It probably does even more harm than a conventional drug in that sugar is introduced into foods without our knowledge hence we’re getting “hooked” through no fault of our own.

Sugar in moderation is in itself not bad for you but the problem occurs when we become reliant. the culprit is often sugars found in processed foods in the form of “high fructose corn syrup” which is highly addictive.

At the end of the day, being prepared and planning healthy nutritious meals in advance is the best way to avoid being “caught out” and reaching for a quick sugar hit.

Martina