substituting sugar

The 12 ounce can of “unhealthy” Coke has 39 grams of SUGAR in it.  The 8 ounce glass of “healthy” orange juice has a whopping 25 grams of sugar.  This would put it at just over 31 grams for 12 ounces.  Crazy, isn’t it?  The OJ has about 80% of the sugar content that a soda does.  And although “fresh squeezed” OJ is good for you, commercial OJ (whether it comes from concentrate or not) has been chemically treated and pasteurized.  These process kill heat-sensitive enzymes and vitamins leaving you with —- sugar.  And because people so often believe that their substitutions are healthy, they end up consuming far more than they would of had they stuck with their original food (in this case, soda).

People fool themselves with all sorts of crazy “substitution” schemes.   One of the biggies is fruit.  People frequently tell me that they have fruit for breakfast.   Unfortunately, many fruits are extremely high on the Glycemic Index.  The Glycemic Index is a chart that tells you how quickly starchy or sugary foods (carbohydrates) are broken down to glucose — the only sugar your body can ultimately convert into energy.  Foods that have a listing closer to 100 are considered high Glycemic Index foods.  Because these foods are broken down into glucose very quickly, they result in a sharp “spike” in blood insulin levels as well as DOZENS OF SERIOUS HEALTH PROBLEMS associated with this process.   If many people have problems eating certain kinds of fruit, you can imagine the insulin dump taking place after consuming many of America’s traditional breakfast foods (cereal, toast and jelly, pancakes, waffles, syrup, B&G — the Ozarker’s Breakfast of Champions —- croissants, sweet rolls, cinnamon rolls, etc, etc, on and on and on).  There is nothing like starting your day with a heavy dose of INSULIN. 

Unfortunately, too many Americans cannot give up their sugar.  This is because for many people (particularly women with ENDOCRINE / HORMONE issues or FIBROMYALGIA) sugar is like heroin or cocaine — highly addictive (HERE).   People sometimes realize that they are addicted to certain things (soda, for instance) and vow to get off of it.  So instead of really getting off the sugar, they quit drinking soda.  But in its place they drink a half gallon of OJ.  Or maybe they’re drinking lemonade.  Or sweet tea.  Or Gatorade.   Although these may better than drinking soda; they’re certainly not much better.  And typically, the group of people engaging in this “substitutionary” behavior will do anything —- and I do mean anything —- to get their sugar fix!   If you have ever spent time around an addict, you already know that their excuses will flow in a veritable avalanche.

So; if you have realized just how smart it is to control your blood sugar by eating in a LOW CARB fashion, stick with it.  Don’t fool yourself with substitution scams (latte-frapachino for fresh roasted coffee).  Eat healthy and the rewards will be great!  If, as you step on the scale, you think that because you are seemingly getting away with your poor eating habits (HERE), just remember —- you will not get away with them forever.  You are fooling yourself if you think otherwise.  Come back tomorrow because fooling yourself with food is the topic.