Everything in Moderation is Not Working

I keep hearing the phrase “everything in moderation”. But what exactly does “moderation” mean to you? Most people you know are not eating sugar in moderation. You may not be eating sugar in moderation and not even realizing it.

I recently came across a TEDx video on YouTube by naturopathic doctor, Jody Stanislaw named Sugar is Not a Treat. This video does a really great job of reminding us to pay attention to what happens in our body when we eat food. (You can watch the video at the end of this post.) We can cause damage, or we can do great things for our body, just by the food that we put into it.

Sugar was introduced to our diet as a treat on special occasions. In today’s society, sugar is embedded in nearly everything we eat. We have gotten to the point that we don’t even enjoy food unless it contains sugar. Fruit juice contains as much sugar as pop. Yogurts have replaced the fat with sugar, to make it “healthy”. We even think we have to sprinkle sugar on fruit, even though fruit is naturally sweet. We are hopelessly desensitized to the sweetness of sugar because what used to be a decadent treat, is now just a part of our normal every day food.

Through brilliant advertising, we are educated by food companies on what foods are “healthy”. We start our days with cereal because we have been told that cereal contains fiber and fiber is so good for us, right? But if you wanted to be healthy, you would choose Raisin Bran over Cinnamon Toast Crunch, right? Take a look at the Eat This Much Site and see the carbohydrate difference between these two cereals and other cereals. You will be astounded in how many carbs are in cereals, let alone those that you think are the best choices.

Refined sugars and starchy foods are classified as carbohydrates or “carbs”. I think that most people know that sugar, breads and pastas contain high amounts of carbohydrates. But what a lot of people don’t even realize is that fruits and vegetables also contain carbs. Some of them are high in carbs and some of them are low in carbs. Until you learn which ones are better choices, you may be surprised at how many carbs you are eating in a day and how the carbs are negatively impacting your body function, and if you pay attention, to how you feel.

Our society seems to be more confused than ever on what to eat and what foods should be considered as healthy. Sugar consumption has been skyrocketing in the last few decades. Sugar has been mixed into nearly every one of our processed foods and treats toting themselves as “healthy”. Granola bars, fruit juice, and yogurt, for example, have all been filled with so much sugar that they can no longer be considered healthy.

This can all be so overwhelming. You really don’t want to give up your regular bowl of cereal in the morning, your orange juice or your vanilla latte. You need chocolate in the after noon just to get yourself through the day, right?! What is there left to eat? Cabbage?

There are actually so many things you can eat, but it takes time to learn. Until then, Dr Jody Stanislaw has three steps that you can start today that will make a real difference to how you feel and will greatly improve your body’s health.

Step 1. Have protein for breakfast. Eggs, nuts, cottage cheese, sliced apple with peanut butter.  

This will help balance your blood sugar level and provide you with steady energy to start your day.

Step 2. Feel hungry? Try water first.

If you feel like you need a sugary snack or some little treat to get you through, you may actually just need water. Sometimes dehydration presents itself as hunger.

Step 3. Find low sugar replacements for high carb foods.

Noodles made out of zucchini, cookies made with almond flour and sweetened with stevia, and so many other options and recipes are out there. You don’t have to restrict your diet, you just have to replace high carb versions of foods with low carb versions of those same foods.

Jody ends the presentation with the guidance that reducing sugar in your diet can be life changing for you. You have beta cells in your pancreas to protect. When you reduce the sugar in the diet you will be using your meals to fuel you into greatness.

I wish you all the success in finding that inner greatness and skyrocketing your health!